


however far away, i will always love you

by hmm



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, POV Third Person, Romance, a bit OOC, prob not historically accurate, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-05-15 05:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5773330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hmm/pseuds/hmm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kol met Emilia at the beginning of his life. She was one of the first vampires to be turned and they were travelling companions for almost 1000 years. When he was daggered in 1914, Emilia fled from the company of the Originals. Now, in Mystic Falls, Virginia, she is thrust back into a life she thought she'd left behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own The Vampire Diaries; all rights belong to the CW and L.J. Smith. The story title is not mine, but a lyric from the song "Lovesong". Also, some of the canon in this story might be slightly off, so consider it sort of an AU.

(some time in the early 1000s)

When Kol Mikaelson had first turned into a vampire, he stuck with his family for the first decade or so. Finn had quickly departed from them, choosing to remain in solitude and self loathing. Elijah also left them for a short time, leaving Kol with Rebekah and Klaus. He was gone for around five years, probably discovering himself. One day he simply returned out of nowhere and he was accepted with open arms. Although Nik hated the very thought of it, Kol was growing bored with this lifestyle and was considering taking off himself. Although he loved his family, he truly wished to see the world for himself. One day, it seemed like the fates were sending him a sign that it was time to leave and do his own thing. 

Kol was hunting in the French countryside, lurking and waiting for unsuspecting carriages to pass by him when he first felt the feeling of being watched. Spinning around, he scanned the countryside, hoping to catch a glimpse of his watcher. He was not disappointed. A curly haired brunette female was gazing at him impassively, her clear blue eyes visible to his heightened vision. Faster than the eye could see, Kol moved to stand next to her, his fangs bared. The girl stared impassively at him, blinking slowly. He quickly realized that this girl was a vampire as well. 

“Who are you?” He questioned, taking a step back, his face reverting back to its natural state. The girl tilted her head, her face still impassive. Not used to being ignored, he gripped her arm tightly, his hand crushing her bones. She flinched away from him, finally showing some emotion. He repeated his question, his grip on her arm growing tighter. 

“Emilia, my lord,” she finally gasped abruptly, looking pained. Kol released her arm, satisfied, and raised his hand to gently stroke her face. She flinched away from his touch, but didn’t move away from his gentle touch. “Are you going to kill me?” She asked, her blue eyes flicking back to meet his. He tilted his head, considering her. Emilia. She was gorgeous. He suspected that either Elijah or Finn had turned her in the past decade. 

“Who turned you?” He questioned, his voice harsh as he stared at her. She avoided his eyes though, staring determinedly into the distance. Kol could see her rubbing the skin where he’d broken her bones, soothing the skin there. Irritated at being ignored, but not wishing to repeat his question, Kol grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. Hopefully, she would get the hint and tell him what he wanted to know. 

Emilia’s pale blue eyes flickered over to him when he physically assaulted her again, drinking in his appearance. Her eyes were unreadable, but Kol felt like she was deciding what to tell him. “His name was Elijah, my lord,” she spoke stiffly, clearly wishing to be anywhere else. “He requested that I follow after you, so that you might not be as brutal in your killings,” she continued, almost reluctant to part with the information. 

So it was Elijah then, Kol mused thoughtfully. Interesting. While Kol didn’t hate his older brother, he certainly didn’t feel like making his life any easier. Especially as he was having Kol followed. Looking back at the smaller woman in front of him, Kol smiled slowly. He was going to have fun with this one. “Well, sweet Emilia,” he watched her flinch with disinterest, “how do you feel about joining me?” Her eyes darted up to meet his with confusion, but Kol could tell he’d piqued her interest. Oh yes, this would be very fun, indeed.


	2. returning home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia returns to Mystic Falls and meets someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any part of the Vampire Diaries. All rights belong to the CW and L.J. Smith. Please enjoy :)

Emilia had been drifting around rather aimlessly after she had escaped Klaus’s clutches. She’d been having a rather sordid affair with a vampire named Damon Salvatore in the sixties, before Klaus had finally hunted her down in 1969. He’d dragged her away with him, keeping his eye on her at all times. She had finally managed to slip away in the middle of the night about two decades later, in September of 1992. Klaus had taken her daylight ring to make it harder for her to wander off, so she had to find a witch that was willing to make her a new one. After that order of business was taken care of, Emilia decided to stay under the radar by spending the next ten years backpacking across Europe. She stayed away from the major cities and compelled lodging in houses scattered across the European countryside. 

In the early 2000s, she chose to flee to the Americas, feeling Klaus closing in on her. She could always tell when it was happening, as Emilia started to look over her shoulder more often. Life traveling through the Americas was interesting, although she didn’t really experience anything she hadn’t before. She and Kol had blown through South America a few centuries prior, so she was familiar with the culture. It was, however, slightly enjoyable to experience it without the murderous rampages that tended to overtake her companion. It was quite peaceful to be away from the never ending violence and chaos that was her normal life. While she missed Kol with every fibre of her being, she reveled in the time away from him. 

She was able to discover herself in ways that she hadn’t before. Emilia found herself getting involved with different people; testing the waters in ways that she was prohibited to do normally. She fully expected that when, or if, Kol was undaggered, if he discovered her multitude of lovers, they would all die. Well, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Emilia steadily made her way up South America, drifting through Central America, and then she road tripped through North America. When she was on the east coast of the US, one of her spies contacted her to tell her that Katerina Petrova had been spotted in Mystic Falls. Curious, Emilia decided to check it out. 

She had never seen a Petrova doppleganger, as Kol hadn’t had any interest in them. She was quite interested however, as maybe the only thing Klaus talked about during their twenty year period together was how he was going to hunt down Katerina and torture her until she begged for mercy. It was quite morbid, but Emilia was used to it by now. Figuring if Katerina was in Mystic Falls, Damon probably was as well, she decided to stay with him. 

Emilia arrived in the small Virginia town on a Wednesday afternoon. She easily compelled a town member to tell her where Damon was staying and made her way to the imposing house. Knocking firmly on the door once, Emilia lent against the door frame, waiting patiently for someone to answer. She wasn’t disappointed. A pretty brunette with brown eyes opened the door, almost hesitantly. Interesting, Emilia mused, because this girl was human and an exact replica of Katerina. A human doppleganger, she realized. This did not bode well. 

“Can I help you?” The girl asked warily. Good, she mused, this girl should be afraid of her. Nudging her foot inconspicuously through the doorway, she had to hide a smug smirk as it passed through without complications. There were no living owners to the house which would make it a lot easier for her to infiltrate, if need be. 

Putting an innocent smile on her face, Emilia attempted to look as nonthreatening as possible. “I’m an old friend of Damon Salvatore,” she said sweetly, her act succeeding. “And you are?” She inquired, curious as to the name of the girl who was a carbon copy of someone else. She saw the girl’s eyes flick over her, taking in her appearance. With her dark curly hair that still tumbled around her shoulders and her doe like blue eyes, Emilia looked the part of an innocent eighteen year old girl. Thankfully, she’d dressed rather unassuming today with a light yellow sundress and black strappy sandals. 

“I’m Elena Gilbert,” the girl introduced, stepping aside. “Damon is upstairs,” she further instructed, still sounding slightly apprehensive. Emilia stepped past Elena, making sure to avoid actual skin contact. She could feel Elena’s eyes on the back of her head as she made her way up the stairs and she heard the door shut. Wandering down the ornate hallway, Emilia managed to end up in a expansive modern room, with the bed dead center. Grinning, she figured this was Damon’s room. Inspecting the bookshelf, she trailed a finger down the titles. Toeing her shoes off, Emilia threw herself onto the bed, enjoying the feel of the soft sheets beneath her skin. 

She clearly hear someone making their way down the hall and she rolled over so she was facing the door. Damon appeared in her sight and he hadn’t aged a day. Typical, as he was a vampire, but he still looked breathtakingly beautiful. “Hey Damon,” she called, waving at him slightly. 

He looked shocked to see her. “Emilia!” He exclaimed, coming over to her. “How long has it been?” He questioned, sitting on the bed next to her. She sat up, moving a little closer to him. Resting a hand on his cheek, she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the mouth; just to test the waters a little bit. He responded vigorously, however, reaching up to tangle his fingers in her hair and pulled her closer. 

When they finally broke away, gasping for breath they didn’t need, Emilia smiled wickedly. Damon returned her smile and Emilia remembered just why they had so much fun together. “Not since the sixties,” she replied, swinging her legs off the bed. Damon leaned back, still looking at her rather lustfully. “I’m actually here to ask you about something I think you’ll have some knowledge about.” Damon simply raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. “I hear that Katerina has decided to show her face. I suppose you would know her best by the name of Katherine. Katherine Pierce,” she spoke, noting Damon’s reaction. He sat straight up, completely serious. 

“What do you know about Katherine?” Damon snapped, flashing up. He had her throwing against the wall with his hand at her throat in the blink of an eye. “Tell me,” he snarled, all signs of friendliness abandoned. 

Tired of all these pretenses, Emilia spun them around so their positions were reversed. She bared her fangs at him, angrily. “Don’t forget, Damon, that I am much, much older than you. I could have ripped your heart out and you wouldn’t have even seen me move. I don’t know anything about Katherine, except for the fact I know someone who would pay to get their hands on her. So you tell me right now everything that has been going on in this pathetic excuse for a town. After, maybe, I’ll let you walk away. Understand?” Emilia growled, tightening the pressure against his throat. He nodded as best he could, his blue eyes pale. 

Stepping back to relieve the pressure, Damon dropped to the ground, coughing. “Alright, alright,” he acquiesced, holding his hands up in a surrendering position. “Katherine, the manipulative little bitch, is in town, looking for a moonstone. Mason Lockwood, brother to the late mayor, was a werewolf and who she entrusted to get the stone. All we know so far is that she’ll do anything to get it. We’re in possession of it, but Katherine is forcing a trade tonight at a masquerade ball.” 

Emilie kept her face blank, her mind racing. The moonstone… She doubted that the Salvatores knew what the moonstone was truly needed for, but seeing as Katherine wanted it, they wouldn’t want her to have it. If Katerina was chasing after the moonstone and she was consorting with a werewolf, well, it looked like she was gathering the ingredients for the ritual. With the human doppleganger downstairs, it looked like she was going to have everything in place soon. “I want to be there with you when you kill her,” she said abruptly, causing Damon’s eyes to flick to her in confusion. “Like I said, I know someone who wants her dead,” she briefly elaborated. She didn’t care enough about Damon to give him the truth. 

He nodded, seemingly accepting her answer. “Come with me then,” he spoke, getting to his feet. “We’re gathering before the party to go over the plan.” With that, Damon left the room, heading back down the stairs. When they reached the main floor, Elena was gone and someone else had taken her place. “That’s Stefan, my little brother,” Damon introduced carelessly. Emilia smiled politely at the brunette, unsure of what to do in these sorts of social situations. Stefan didn’t seem all that interested in her anyway, which made it much easier. People slowly started trickling into the Boarding House, while Damon pointed out everyone, giving her a name to match to the face. 

Emilia was especially interested in the man pointed out to be Alaric. She’d been given a brief description of him; just that he was a vampire hunter who’s wife was Elena’s mother. It was all quite interesting. He was currently speaking. “Are you sure you guys don’t want me there tonight?” He asked, directing his question towards Damon and Stefan. 

Her eyes followed the debate, hearing how Stefan took charge. Inwardly, she wondered how similar the two brothers were. She’d heard about how they were both hung up on the same girl, although Damon never mentioned his brother during their ten year companionship. She stayed silent through the entire conversation. Due to her relationship with Kol, staying silent and looking menacing was like a second nature to Emilia. 

When it seemed like everything was wrapping up, Emilia departed to get ready for the party that night. She donned a short, tight, midnight blue dress that barely reached the middle of her thighs. As she started the torturous process of pinning her dark curls up into an up-do, Damon knocked on her door. Calling for him to come in, she continued glaring into the mirror, whilst rearranging her hair. Emilia felt his presence, his fingers a whispering touch along the skin of her neck. “I brought you this,” he murmured, taking a step away. Finally deciding that she couldn’t do anything else with the mess of curls on top of her head, she twisted around, getting up to face Damon. He handed her a silver mask with dark blue stones decorating the eyes. Glancing up at him in curiosity, he shrugged with a slight smirk. “I caught a glimpse of your dress beforehand and figured you could use it. You look stunning by the way,” he spoke, his smirk transforming into a small, genuine smile. 

“Thank you,” Emilia responded, taken aback by his thoughtfulness. “That suit looks quite good on you, as well,” she continued, giving him a smirk of her own. “Are you here to escort me to the ball?” She enquired, slipping on a pair of high, black heels. Damon laughed, holding his arm out for her to take. 

“Of course,” he spoke, drawing her close to him. “Let’s go kill a vampire.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damon, Stefan, and Emilia stood in front of the Lockwood house. Emilia was flanked by Damon and Stefan as they stared up at the house. Stefan had warmed up to her on the way over, and Emilia had to admit that she found him quite refreshing. “Do you see her?” Damon asked his brother, turning to glance at him. 

“Nope,” Stefan responded, returning Damon’s gaze. “You sure you can do this?” He directed his comment at Damon, but Emilia saw him glance down at her. Smirking to herself, she wrapped an arm around Damon’s waist. Clearly, the younger Salvatore, while polite to her, didn’t trust her at all. He was smart, she had to give him that.

“Who are you talking to?” Damon sniped towards Stefan, clearly irritated. He glanced down at Emilia and returned her embrace, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

“Oh, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated,” Stefan fired back, keeping up effortlessly. Emilia had to admire his spirit. There was something about him that seemed so familiar, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. 

“Well, that is the fork in the road between you and me, my friend. I don’t hesitate,” Damon answered. He smirked at his brother, and for a moment, she was struck with a fierce longing for a sibling. She had a younger sister once, but after she was turned and after she ran into Kol, she had never seen her family again. The banter, and love, between the brothers was so palpable that Emilia was quite stunned. 

“You spent 145 years loving her, it could happen,” Stefan reasoned with Damon. 

“I won’t hesitate,” Damon insisted. Emilia wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. 

“Okay,” Stefan acquiesced, albeit reluctantly, and headed up the stairs. 

Damon and Emilia followed behind him, although she drew away from him slightly. She needed to be on guard and it was hard to do that while in the middle of embracing someone. “Damon,” she muttered, suddenly realizing something. He glanced at her, his blue eyes looking curious. “I haven’t been invited in. I won’t be able to get into the house!” Figuring the more pathetic she looked and sounded, the more willing Damon would be to help her, Emilia gave it her all. Damon took the bait and reassured her, before going off to find the host of the house. He introduced them, and Carol Lockwood was quite a lovely woman. She was introduced inside without any fuss and the whole mess was over almost as soon as it had appeared. 

Wandering inside the luxurious house, Emilia drank in the revelry. It had been a long time since she had been to a party that was worth going to. No matter what else was happening in this dreary little town, if it threw more parties like this, she could stay a while. It would be rather nice to insert herself into this town lifestyle. She could have quite the fun time. Snatching a flute of champagne off a waiter, Emilia observed the dancers. Taking a small sip, her eyes darted around, until she caught sight of Damon. 

Waving her over, he hissed at her, “Katherine’s here,” sounding just the slightest bit frazzled. “She just killed a girl who lives here. Stefan’s disposing of the body now, but I can tell he wants to stop. We’re just about to initiate the next part of the plan.” Emilia nodded slowly, taking in the flux of information. She stayed silent though, not having anything to say. Taking her silence as agreement, Damon gestured for her to follow him. Feeling suddenly, inexplicably, exhausted, Emilia drained her glass before setting down on another waiters tray. 

“Lead the way.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(sometime in the early 1300s) 

“I swear, I don’t know anything,” Emilia sobbed. “He doesn’t tell me anything!” She exclaimed, as loud as she could, despite the pain she was in. She had been hunting alone, earlier that day, as Kol had to deal with some business. She didn’t mind hunting alone; it gave her time to gather her thoughts and to have some alone time. Of course, she had been ambushed by a pair of vampire hunters who thought she would know a way to kill an Original. They had filled her bloodstream with vervain and dragged her away. They had stolen her daylight ring and, while torturing her for information, let her burn in the sun every couple of minutes. 

“Stop lying to us, demon,” the man who had been torturing her for the past hour hissed, tightening the chains around her wrists. They were drenched in vervain and had been burning her nonstop. “You know how to kill the original ones. We know you’ve been keeping company with one of them, so tell us how.” When Emilia said nothing, the other man who had been watching from the sideline drew closer and dragged a knife down the side of her face. Emilia immediately could tell that it had been soaked in vervain, as she cried out the second it touched her skin. 

“Tell us how to kill them, wench,” the knife wielder snarled, his mouth twisting bitterly. “And maybe, we won’t kill you as well,” he continued, pushing away from her. He made a gesture and the other man threw open some shade and the light of the sun filled the room. Emilia cried out, attempting to twist away from the light. 

“No, no, no, please!” Sobbing, she still attempted to turn away from the burning torture the sun caused her. “I don’t know anything!” When the torture continued, Emilia felt her terror drain away from her. These men weren’t going to let her live. Soon enough they would realize that she truly didn’t know anything, and then they would kill her. She hadn’t fed in three days and they had kept her full of vervain to weaken her. In the place of her terror, a cold fury filled her body. When the men finally darkened the room again, she straightened slowly. Staring straight into the eyes of her captors, she spoke. “Kol will find me and when he does, he will tear the hearts straight out of your chest,” Emilia snarled, a wild abandon filling her. 

 

She was bluffing; although they didn’t know that. While she and Kol had been companions for around three hundred years, she knew that she was disposable. Their relationship had always felt slightly one-sided to her, which she was fine with. Emilia knew though that he wouldn’t come for her if it posed a danger to himself. She had lived this long; she was fine with dying now. Secretly, Emilia wondered to herself how long she would have to keep lying herself before it actually came true. 

Sure enough, on the fifth day without blood, the two men stood in front of her. One held a wooden stake while the other held an injector filled with what she suspected to be vervain. Her time had come. The cold fury that possessed her body two days earlier had drained away just as quickly. Emilia was just exhausted now and she really wished these men would stop dragging it out and kill her already. She gazed up at them apathetically, watching detached as the man with the stake brought it up and back down towards her chest. Closing her eyes in a pathetic form of rebellion, she waited for the inevitable pain. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes. The two men in front of her had whirled around and were now staring at the door. Curious, Emilia tried her best to see what had caught their attention, when a flurry of movement commenced. Too dizzy and weak to keep up with the action, she was taken aback when the man with the stake suddenly crumpled. Then, standing right in front of her, she could see Kol’s face. 

“Kol?” She questioned weakly, blinking rapidly. Her eyes darted over to where the other man stood, only to see him drop to the ground as well. In his place stood Elijah. The older man nodded at her, looking rather sad. Confused, she watched as he lightly touched Kol on the shoulder and strode out the door. 

“Sorry, darling, I would’ve come for you immediately, but I had to find Elijah first. I needed some backup on this one and he’s the only one I could trust with your life.” Bemusedly, Emilia watched as Kol deftly undid the chains around her wrists, barely flinching. He caught her as she slid out of the chair, stroking her hair in a manner that was unusual for him. Dragging over one of the corpses, he nudged the dead body in front of her. “Drink up; you’ll need to get your strength up as we are leaving this hellish place as soon as possible,” Kol cajoled, still stroking her hair. 

The moment Emilia smelled the blood, any rational thought she possessed was gone. She pounced as best she could, her fangs breaking the skin of the man’s throat. Drinking hungrily, she drained the man of his blood, not bothering to be clean. When she finally came up for air, blood was coating the lower half of her face, but Kol was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. “I thought you weren’t going to come for me,” she admitted, almost shyly. 

A look of rage crossed Kol’s face as he quickly approached her, pulling her to her feet. He kissed her hard, not caring about the blood on her face. She reciprocated as best she could, although it was difficult, for Kol was being incredibly demanding. “I will always come for you,” he spoke darkly. He stroked her face gently, reminiscent of the first time they met. “Oh, sweet Emilia,” Kol crooned, a dark fire behind his words. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? You’re mine,” he spoke harshly, capturing her lips in a punishing kiss once again.


	3. old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia is reunited with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Vampire Diaries. All rights belong to L.J Smith and the CW. Not beta'd.

Emilia leaned against a wall in their temporary prison, bored out of her mind. She guessed it showed, as the three other vampires in the room were giving her their distance. Clearly Katherine was bored as well, because with one last wary glance towards Emilia, she began to speak. “The three of us together, just like old times,” she spoke, condescension dripping from her voice. “The brother who loved me too much and the brother who didn’t love me enough,” she continued, directing a small smirk towards Stefan. 

Emilia observed the brothers’ reactions. Stefan seemed to be unaffected, just gazing down at Katherine with a blank face, but Emilia could see his shoulders tighten underneath the fabric of his suit. While his brother stood silent, Damon stood from where he had been attempting to break through the barrier, starting to speak. “And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself,” he droned, sounding slightly irritated. He started to turn as Katherine began to reply, while his brother turned to give him a warning stare. 

“What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite.” Katherine had obviously been irritated by Damon’s comment, as her tone was snarky. She tilted her head from her vantage point on the sofa, affixing a bored look to her face. 

Fully turning so he was facing Katherine, Damon retorted. “Oh, that Damon died a long time ago,” he replied, putting emphasis on long. He gave Katherine a clearly fake smile, one that Emilia knew promised pain. 

“Good. He was a bore,” Katherine provoked. Damon made a face at her, clearly irritated. 

Emilia decided to step in, tired of the childish conversation. “Oh, why don’t you two stop antagonizing each other?” She snapped, ending that train of conversation. From her viewpoint, she saw Stefan give Katherine a smug smile. Quickly regaining speed, Katherine redirected the conversation back to the moonstone. When she and Stefan came to an impasse, however, the conversation was directed back to the three vampires’ love lives. With a groan, Emilia banged her head against the wall loudly. 

Ignoring her, Katherine continued on. “So it doesn’t bother you that Damon’s in love with your girlfriend?” She asked, all fake innocence. Emilia glanced back at Damon, along with Stefan. While she didn’t appreciate the drama, it was mildly interesting. If Kol were here, she mused, he probably would’ve killed everyone in the room by now. 

Emilia listened in, slightly disinterested. These idiots were finally putting everything together. Of course, they didn’t know one of the oldest vampires in history was hunting for the moonstone, or that Elena was in the middle of his plans. She smirked slightly to herself. Maybe there would be some entertainment in the coming weeks. Of course, once Klaus learned about Elena, she would have to flee. Emilia didn’t want to take the chance that he would force her to go with him again. 

She watched with slight interest as the witch entered the room, the moonstone glinting in her hand. Tilting her head, she observed with veiled interest as Katherine dropped to the ground, unable to breathe. Kol would’ve liked this witch. He liked the ones who could stand up for themselves. Glad that the whole fiasco was over, Emilia rapidly made her exit, giving a short goodbye to the Salvatore brothers. She headed back to the Boarding House, caught up in her thoughts. A storm was about to hit Mystic Falls, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted any part of it. Klaus was still hunting her down; she hadn’t left things on the best of terms with Elijah either, when she’d fled. 

Deciding to just take a relaxing day tomorrow, she ran back to her lodging, making sure to keep out of any human’s eye. She arrived back at the imposing house in no time, quickly hurrying up to the room the brothers had provided for her. Shutting the door behind her, Emilia pulled off her shoes, throwing them back into the closet gently. Stripping, she pulled on an old shirt of Kol’s and clambered into bed. While vampires technically didn’t need sleep, it was one of the few facets of her human life that she was unwilling to let go of. 

She hadn’t been sleeping well ever since she returned to Mystic Falls and it was evident in the way she was immediately asleep the second her head touched the pillow. She was awakened midday, by Damon roughly shaking her shoulder. “What?” Emilia mumbled sleepily, trying to bury her face back into the pillow she was clutching tightly. 

“Emilia, wake up.” Damon snapped, his hand rough on her shoulder. “Elena is missing,” he snarled, his voice wild. She rolled over, shading her eyes from the sunlight. Damon looked as wild as he sounded, his eyes blazing with blue fire. “Stefan and I are going to go find her,” he continued, roughly. “We wanted to see if you would come with us. We think whoever took her is looking for Katherine.” He finally released her arm, backing up off of her bed while he waited for her to answer. 

Emilia thought it over carefully, but Damon’s face fell before she could work out a response. “Damon, I’m sorry, I truly am. I just can’t get caught up in things like this. Text me how it goes. I’m sure Elena will be fine,” she responded, not sure whether to soothe or to plead. Damon gave an abrupt nod and exited the room, as quickly as he’d come. She felt slightly bad about not helping, but the feeling was quickly replaced with hunger. She hadn’t fed in at least a day or two and she was definitely feeling the effects. 

Wandering down to the basement, after getting dressed, Emilia opened up the cooler that she knew contained blood bags. Pulling one out, she opened it with her teeth, drinking hungrily. When she was done, she tossed the bag aside. Her fangs retracted and she headed back upstairs, lost in her thoughts. While Kol reveled in the bloodlust and power that came with being a vampire, Emilia never became that way. She didn’t mind her companion’s bloodlust and viciousness, she just simply didn’t care enough to join in. Of course, if he asked her, she would gladly join him, but other than that, she refrained from killing with abandon. 

Lighting a fire in the fireplace (cautiously, of course), Emilia settled into the sofa with a large book resting on her lap. She was attempting to find a spell that would preform an advanced tracking spell. As the peaceful sound of the crackling fire overtook her senses, she delved deeper into the tome, absorbing the information. Klaus had hidden Kol’s coffin away and she had promised her companion that she would attempt to find him, should he ever be daggered again.  
Her phone buzzed loudly, shocking her out of her trance-like state. Picking it up, Emilia saw that Damon was calling her. Assuming he had some information on Elena’s state, she answered quickly. “Hey,” she spoke. 

“We’ve got her,” Damon said over the line without preamble. “Some crazy old vampire had kidnapped her. He was going to take her away but we got there and killed him in the nick of time. His name was Elijah, I think,” he filled her in, not letting her get a word in edgewise. 

Emilia felt faint. “Elijah?” she murmured, almost inaudibly. Of course she knew Elijah wasn’t truly dead, or she would be as well, but they must have put a stake through his heart. 

“Yes, Elijah,” Damon snapped irritably. He was clearly still upset from her refusal earlier. “We dealt with that though. We’re on our way back. See you soon,” he said shortly, hanging up without letting her reply. Emilia felt a sense of panic rush through her. She wasn’t ready to face Elijah yet, not after their last encounter. 

Flitting quickly to her room, Emilia packed her stuff up. While she didn’t appreciate having to flee again, Elijah was too unpredictable. She didn’t know what course of action he would take; if he was interested in Elena, that meant he was planning on calling Klaus to town soon. If there was anyone who Emilia was scared of running into, it was Klaus. Deciding that she had her few belongings packed up, Emilia headed down the stairs. She glanced around the expansive hallway, dragging her hand gently along the paneled walls. Her mind set, she exited the house, shutting the door decisively behind her. 

Popping the trunk of her car, she tossed her bags in, shutting the top gently. Checking the time on her phone, she unlocked her car without looking up. Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she was dragged back until she hit someone’s chest. Furiously, Emilia attempted to twist away from the person gripping her, but she couldn’t escape the iron grip that was keeping her in the same spot. 

With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she realized whoever her captor was, they were older than her. That left two options, and she doubted it was Klaus. “Hello, sweet Emilia,” a familiar voice murmured into her ear. Flinching slightly, she attempted to escape his clutches again, only to have the vice grip around her tighten even further. “It’s quite rude of you to leave without saying hello to an old friend,” the voice continued, causing the pit in Emilia’s stomach to deepen. Finally giving up her escape attempt, her head dropped against the shoulder of the person who was restraining her. Finally getting a view of his face, she sighed when her suspicions were confirmed. 

Elijah smiled darkly at her, dropping his hand away from her mouth. His grip on her loosened slightly and he gripped her arm tightly, spinning her around to face him. “Elijah,” she gasped, attempting to keep the pleading note out of her voice. “What do you want from me?” She questioned, slightly uncomfortable at how close together they were. 

He tilted his head, his dark eyes widening ever so slightly. “Can’t I just want to see an old friend?” Emilia’s eyes narrowed, while Elijah gave a resigned sigh. He gave her a charming smile (and in that moment, he looked so much like Kol that it hurt), and stroked her hair gently. Emilia flinched away from his touch instinctively. Instead of looking offended, he simply laughed. “Don’t worry, sweet Emilia. I’m not going to kill you.”  
‘You’re not going to kill me, yet,” she retorted, her fear slowly draining away and being replaced by something a lot more heated. Elijah simply laughed and inclined his head, not denying her words. “Just let me be, Elijah. You know that you’re not the Mikaelson brother that I wish to see. As long as Kol is in a box, I want nothing to do with you,” she snapped angrily, attempting once more to escape the hold that Elijah had her in. 

He didn’t give an acknowledgment that he heard her words. Instead, he gripped her chin harshly and tilted her head up so she was staring into his eyes. “Are you on vervain?” He compelled her, not allowing her to jerk her head away. Immediately after he asked the question, she realized that she was screwed. 

“No,” she answered tonelessly, the word slipping past her lips without her consent. She knew it was stupid to stop taking the vervain, but she had assumed it wouldn’t be necessary. Well, if she ever got out of this situation alive, that would be one lesson that she would not forget. 

Elijah smiled thinly. “Good. Now, let me tell you how it’s going to be.” He stared into Emilia’s eyes again, forcing her into the compulsion. “You are going to come back to my apartment with me and you are going to do everything that I tell you to do. And then, when the time comes, I will hand you over to Niklaus.” He released her chin, once he was satisfied that the compulsion had set in. 

Emilia gasped inaudibly, gazing at Elijah imploringly. “No, you can’t turn me over to him. Please, Elijah, he’ll kill me. Please, anything but that.” She approached him, as best she could, attempting to reason with him. Elijah was the one who’d turned her; surely he wouldn’t kill her again. 

He stared at her blankly, his familiar dark eyes void of emotion. “You should have thought about that before you did what you did,” he answered, compassionless. “We’re leaving now,” he spoke abruptly, his voice harsh. Grabbing her arm brutally, he dragged her away with him when he ran back to wherever he was staying, using vampire speed. 

(sometime in the early 1000s)

“Emilia! Emilia! There is a man here, a lord, and he wishes to stay with us for some time,” her mother cried, coming into her room. Emilia glanced up at her mother with confusion, her blue eyes wide. “Emilia!” Her mother snapped, shaking her by the shoulder roughly. “Why are you just sitting there? This is the perfect time for you to impress someone of good standing. We need you to marry a lord and Lord Elijah is the perfect man,” her mother continued, standing behind Emilia as she started to pin her hair up. “Here, let me help.” 

“Mama,” Emilia started to protest quietly. Her mother paid her no mind, simply going after her hair with more fervor. Deciding to give up on her argument, Emilia simply relaxed and let her mother do what she wished. As the eldest daughter in her family, it was important that she marry a respectable man. At eighteen, she had already had multiple suitors, but it was unusual for her to still be unmarried. Her parents must have been growing desperate, she mused. 

Finally done with her hair, her mother stepped away and motioned for Emilia to stand up. “My darling daughter,” her mother crooned, gently stroking her cheek. Emilia glanced up at her mother through her eyelashes demurely, wishing to be helpful. “You are going to make this family respectable,” she murmured quietly. “Now come,” her mother said abruptly, the moment over. 

Emilia bowed her head and followed her mother, staying silent. Her mother was a headstrong woman and it was simply easier for Emilia to not resist and to go with the flow of things. Trailing after her mother, she kept her gaze on the ground in front of her. She didn’t want to risk offending this lord, because she knew how much it would mean to her family if they were able to marry her off to wealthy nobility. “Here she is,” her mother spoke to someone else present in the room. “Emilia, this is Lord Mikaelson,” her mother introduced, causing her to glance up. 

An attractive man dressed in the finest of clothes was standing before the two women, gazing at them with eyes devoid of emotion. He gave her a polite smile, taking her hand gently in his before brushing his lips across the back of her hand. He maintained eye contact with her the whole time, and Emilia could feel herself start to blush slightly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord,” Emilia spoke softly, curtsying deeply. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Emilia,” the man spoke, giving her a charming smile. She could feel her blush threatening to make an appearance again. Elijah glanced back at her mother, before holding out his arm for her to take. Emilia risked looking back at her mother, herself, and simply saw her beaming with pride. “Walk with me,” the lord commanded. Looping her arm through his, Emilia followed after him. 

While her family wasn’t wealthy, they owned a rather sizable piece of land. Elijah led her through the rolling hills of her home, seemingly already familiar with the land. After they had already been walking for quite some time, Emilia spoke up. “My lord, I do not mean to be impertinent, but I know you are only here to marry me.” Elijah slowly came to a halt, turning around so that his dark eyes were boring into her with intensity. He stayed silent, however, seemingly allowing for her to continue with her thoughts. “I just simply do not see what reason you would wish to make me your bride. My family does not have much to offer you and I’m sure that you could have whichever bride you wish,” she rambled on, not looking Elijah in the eye. 

A hand caught her chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes. She could have sworn she saw his pupils dilate, but it must have been a trick that her mind was playing on her. “Miss Emilia,” he spoke gently, his touch just as gentle. “Don’t ever doubt your worth again,” he continued, still looking her in the eye. He let her break away from his hold; shaking her head, Emilia felt a strange shift in her attitude. “And in time, you shall be very useful to me,” he went on, acting like nothing had changed. He looked up at her once more, a slow smile spreading across his face, causing her to smile shyly back at him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a few months since Emilia had first met Elijah. She had never enjoyed having a suitor more. Elijah was clever and witty, with a wonderful sense of humor. She had never laughed so much in her entire life. He had taken to walking her through the gardens and just talking with her. Elijah was perfectly respectable and Emilia was starting to think that if she was going to marry Elijah, she wouldn’t mind it at all. 

Currently, they were walking through the fields again, simply discussing their days. Elijah suddenly turned to her, gazing at her seriously. “Emilia,” he said, his eyes meeting her blue ones. She could have sworn his pupils dilated again, but she just ignored it. It had happened quite a bit during their times together and she hadn’t worked up to asking her yet. They were still walking though; her concentration broke as she tripped over her feet and fell to the ground. Emilia put her hands in front of her to break her fall, but ended up cutting her hand open on a particularly sharp rock instead. 

With a hiss of pain, Emilia curled into herself, cradling her injured hand ignorant of the blood that was rapidly covering her dress and other hand. She heard Elijah draw in a sharp hiss of air and felt, rather than saw, him take a hasty step away from her. Glancing towards him, a slight sheen of tears obscuring her vision, she found him a few feet away from her. He was facing away from where she lay, crumpled on the ground, and Emilia could tell that his fists were clenched at his sides. “Elijah,” she cried, her voice sounding harsh and grating even to her own ears. “Please help me,” she continued, on the brink of tears. She wasn’t necessarily going to cry, but the pain in her hand and the slight twinge of hurt at Elijah’s standoffishness, caused her emotions to escape her control. 

Then Elijah was crouched in front of her, faster than her mind could comprehend. “Hush now,” he murmured, his hand coming up to stroke her face gently. She gazed at him in confusion, before reeling away from him. Elijah was wearing a demon’s face; dark, spidery, veins had emerged under his eyes and he had fangs protruding from his mouth. “I can help you,” he spoke, ignorant of her terror. He bit into the skin of his free wrist, before dragging her closer with inhuman strength and pressing his bloody wrist to her lips. Inadvertently, Emilia swallowed some of his blood and he released her, allowing her to gasp for breath. 

“What have you done to me?” Emilia cried out, her lips still bloody from his wrist. With a growing horror, she watched as the cut on her hand stitched itself back together; the only evidence she’d ever been injured at all was the blood that still coated her hands and arms. When Elijah looked confused and reached out for her, Emilia skittered away as best she could while still sitting on the ground. “Don’t touch me! You are a devil,” she cursed, terror and adrenaline still coursing through her veins. Elijah’s face slowly returned back to the handsome visage she’d become so accustomed to. 

His tongue wet his lips as he avoided her eyes. “Emilia, you must not tell anyone about what happened here today,” he spoke emphatically. She stared at him in revulsion, not answering him. Clearly he got her message as he looked away, shaking his head. “I am truly sorry that it had to be this way,” he said, a strange tone inflecting his words. He moved to stand by her, much quicker than an average human. Emilia tried to get away from him, but he picked her up, as if she weighed nothing. 

Emilia considered screaming, but Elijah must have seen her intention in her eyes. His dark eyes met her lighter ones and he forced her to hold eye contact. “Stay quiet,” he ordered, his pupils dilating. Emilia opened her mouth to protest but found that she could not say anything. What little composure she had left broke and tears started to roll down her cheeks. Elijah was going to kill her; she could just tell. He looked pained at the sight of her tears, but Emilia didn’t know fact from fiction anymore. He continued on, anyway. “You are not going to tell anyone of what you saw today. You are going to go home and tell your mother that the engagement has been called off and I am to return to my family tomorrow.” He released Emilia from her trance, letting her drop to the ground. “If you need me for some reason,” he continued, his voice distant, “I shall be staying at the next house over.” With one last glance towards her crumpled body, he was gone before Emilia could think to protest. 

Somehow, Emilia managed to stumble back home. No one was in her house when she arrive, thankfully, so she was able to rid herself of the blood that coated her hands and arms. Shedding the ruined dress that she had been wearing, Emilia threw it in the crackling fireplace in her room. She watched the bloodied fabric burn and disappear in the flames. Redressing herself, Emilia curled into a ball at her window, shaking slightly. She was still in shock over what had happened earlier. 

Hearing the door shut downstairs and her mother’s voice filtering through the air, Emilia felt a strange compulsion to speak to her mother. She listened to the sound of her mother climbing up the stairs and stood up to meet her. Exiting her room, she saw her mother beaming at her from a few feet away. “Mother,” she started, uncertainty crawling underneath her skin. Emilia knew that her mother would be extremely upset at the way things had transpired. She wanted nothing more than to tell her mother what had actually happened that day with Elijah, but she couldn’t manage to form the words. 

“Emilia!” Her mother exclaimed, cutting her off. “How was your day with Elijah? Surely he must be about to present his terms for the engagement,” she continued on, seemingly not noticing Emilia’s flinch at Elijah’s name. When Emilia didn’t respond, her mother looked over at her curiously. “What’s wrong, dear?” She questioned, approaching her, almost hesitantly. 

“Elijah is not going to marry me!” Emilia exclaimed wildly, unable to stop the words that exited her mouth. Her mother took a half step back, regarding her with something that Emilia identified close to distaste. The words kept pouring out of her mouth, however. “He’s returning to his family tomorrow,” she spoke monotonously. She hadn’t realized until after that there had been almost a constant itch in the back of her mind that had only gone away after she had followed Elijah’s orders. The overwhelming feeling of confusion almost overpowered her concern over her mother’s reaction to the news. 

Her mother was staring at her with a look of abject horror, mixed with disappointment. Emilia tried to say something; to plead for forgiveness, but her mother cut her off. “You’re a disgrace,” she murmured, shaking her head slightly. “We should have married you off to the first man who asked for your hand when you were fifteen,” she continued on, her voice raising in fervor. “You are almost halfway to the end of your life; you’ll be an old maid,” her voice taking on a frightening intensity. 

Emilia took a step back as she saw her mother approach her. She knew that her fear was irrational but it was coursing through her body so intensely she couldn’t think of anything else. Except instead of meeting the solid ground, her foot hit air. Emilia teetered backwards and turned slightly to see where she was. Her movement threw her entire body off balance and for one second, Emilia felt her stomach dropped as she realized that she was at the top of the stairs. Then, she was tumbling backwards, falling over herself as she flew through the air roughly. The last thing she heard before she hit the ground was her mother’s horrified scream. Emilia hit the ground forcefully and everything went black. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she finally awoke, it was like being doused in ice water. Where it had just been black and foggy, everything had been thrust into high definition. Her senses were heightened; Emilia could smell the earth around her and she could see the finest details on the wood ceiling above her. She felt an aching in her neck; that must have been what she hit when she fell. The afternoon light from before she fell had turned into the darkness of night. Which was surprising, Emilia mused as she sat up, for that was a long time to be unconscious. 

She heard a sharp intake of breath, which caused her head to snap over to the origin of the noise. Her mother had been sitting on the floor a few feet from Emilia. Her eyes were bloodshot and it was clear she had been crying recently. Emilia felt a wave of curiosity, but she ignored for more pressing matters. She could actually hear her mother’s pulse, could hear the blood pumping through her veins. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to sink her fangs deep into her mother’s jugular. 

Horrified by the directions her thoughts had taken, Emilia glanced up at her mother who had started to sob anew. Before she could could say anything, her mother started to speak. “You were dead,” she cried, giving Emilia a reproachful look. “Your neck broke when you fell,” her mother sobbed, her words becoming unintelligible. Dismayed, Emilia raised a hand up to her neck. She felt fine. A little strange maybe, but certainly not like she had just died. 

Getting up to comfort her mother, Emilia crouched by her prone form. “It’s okay, mother,” she spoke, soothingly. Her mother threw her arms around Emilia’s neck, clutching her close. She was murmuring incomprehensible things, but Emilia got the gist. From this angle, her mother’s neck was right in front of her mouth. It would be so easy to just… bite and rip and tear into the skin there. Emilia tried to shake herself of the bloodlust, but no reprieve came. She could smell the sweet blood that was rushing through veins mere centimeters away. 

She could practically taste the fear and sadness that was coursing through her mother. The negative emotions gave her a rush and Emilia felt strange. Her control finally wavered, just a bit. She just needed to taste, to give in. She was so hungry. Opening her mouth wide, Emilia felt a pain in her gums, but ignored it. Biting into the junction between her mother’s neck and shoulder, the heady taste of blood filled her mouth. 

It was better than anything she had ever tasted before. Emilia barely noticed her mother fighting to get away. It was the easiest thing to hold her down. She felt her canines elongate into fangs as she continued drinking her mother’s blood. Drinking blood had to be one of the most euphoric things she’d experienced. In the back of her mind, Emilia realized that her mother’s struggles were becoming weaker and weaker until she was barely moving. She didn’t put the pieces together in her mind until she found that she couldn’t drink anymore. Dropping her mother’s motionless body onto the ground, Emilia attempted to wipe off some of the blood that covered the lower half of her face but she was mostly unsuccessful. 

Staring at her mother’s pale body, Emilia realized that the women who had raised her was dead and she was the cause of that. Abject horror and shame welling up inside of her, Emilia stumbled to her feet. She was still feeling the effects of the blood; immense power and strength. Emilia felt like she could conquer anything right now, but her emotions were all over the place. Attempting to run to the door, she felt a sudden burst of speed. Using a combination of this strange speed and her drunken steps, she made her way towards where Elijah was staying. 

Pounding on the door, Emilia leant on the doorframe shakily. She was sure that whatever was happening to her, it was Elijah’s fault. When the door finally swung open, the woman standing there reeled back in horror. She must be quite the sight; which her hair still wild from when she’d fallen down the stairs and her mother’s blood coating her face and dress, Emilia looked like she had just killed someone. Which technically, she had, in a sense. “Where is Elijah?” Emilia demanded, attempting to enter the house, only to be prevented by an invisible barrier. 

Elijah appeared in her periphery, taking in her appearance impassively. “Invite her in,” he intoned, sounding like he hadn’t any cares in the world. The woman did so, and Emilia stumbled into the house, the door slamming shut behind her. 

“What did you do to me?” Emilia asked, a sob catching in her throat. Before, she had only been feeling confusion and slight terror, but memories were returning to her and an intense rage was filling her. “You did this to me!” Emilia shrieked, throwing herself at Elijah. He caught her effortlessly and restrained her attempts to hit him with an iron like grip. “I’m a monster,” she sobbed, crumpling so Elijah’s vice-like hands around her arms were the only thing keeping her supported. “I killed my mother and I am a monster,” she whimpered, the overpowering rage giving way to an all encompassing grief. 

Emilia had no clue why her emotions were all over the place, but she couldn’t bring it in her to care. All she could think about was her grief. That, and the fact that despite draining her mother less than an hour ago, Emilia was hungry again. She could smell the blood in the woman who had let her in and all she wanted to do was attack the woman. Elijah sank to the floor, cradling her in his arms. He stroked her hair gently, speaking for the first time. “Hush. Everything will be alright. I promise,” he murmured. He continued to stroke her hair as she cried for everything she’d lost, her mother’s blood still dripping steadily onto the ground.


	4. new information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia tries to escape her new captor and learns some surprising information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to the CW and L.J. Smith. Only plot is mine. Also, sorry for the delay! Enjoy!

(elijah's house about two days later)

 

Emilia rolled over, face down on the small sofa. Her body was too large for the small piece of furniture, but at this point in time, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Cabin fever was settling in under her skin and all she wanted to do was kill someone. Elijah had kept her cooped up in his tiny house that didn’t even belong to him ever since he abducted her. He was holed up with a duo of witches in a tiny, musty house. There were nice furnishings and plenty of grimoires, but Emilia was crawling out of her skin due to boredom. 

 

The Martins made for good company, but they didn’t pay her much mind. They were mainly in and out of the house, barely giving her the time of day. Emilia suspected that Elijah had instructed them to steer clear of her. He had barely looked at her either. 

 

After kidnapping her, Elijah had grilled her intensely on the doppleganger and the Salvatore brothers. She told him everything she knew; he’s compelled her to be honest, and there wasn’t much she was trying to hide. When he’d learned everything she’d had to tell, he had simply stopped speaking with her. Clearly he hadn’t gotten over what had happened over a century prior. Well, she could hold a grudge too. 

 

Sighing into the fabric of the sofa loudly, Emilia managed to roll over so she was facing the ceiling. She was so bored. She could feel the dull pangs of hunger in the back of her throat, but she pushed down the instinct to feed. Knowing Elijah, she probably would be starving by the time Klaus got his hands on her. Realizing slowly that the house was completely empty for the first time in about two days, she decided to attempt to find a way out. 

 

Emilia had tried before, of course, but she hadn’t gotten very far. Elijah’s compulsion still kept her locked in the house and she hadn’t managed to find a loophole yet. While he hadn’t told her to do everything he said, he had told her that she was under no circumstances to leave the house. Hoisting herself up, Emilia glanced around her surroundings. Dragging her fingers over a few of the spines of the nearby grimoires, she chewed her lip thoughtfully. 

 

Coming to a decision, Emilia made her way through the rest of the house. A few of the doors were locked, which stopped her in her tracks briefly. A lock wouldn’t stop her from getting into the rooms, but if she didn’t want the witches knowing what she was up to, she’d have to avoid overt brute force. Deciding to come back to the doors, Emilia searched the rest of the rooms thoroughly. Finally, in a room resembling an office, she managed to find what she was looking for. 

 

Sitting back on her heels, Emilia opened the laptop, before encountering a password screen shining back at her. Cursing vehemently to herself, she slammed the computer shut with disappointment. She finally decided to attempt to crack the password. By glancing at the rest of the documents available to her, she managed to figure out birthdays and first names. By typing in almost every combination she could think of, Emilia was finally rewarded for her persistence. The password had been the name and birthday of a girl she assumed to be Martin’s daughter. 

 

Grinning to herself, pleased with her success, she hurriedly opened up a browser. She didn’t know when the owners of the house would return and she didn’t want Elijah to realize her renewed fight. If it came to it, she could always snap the necks of the witches and wait for Elijah to slip up. She’d been captive with Klaus for over two decades; Emilia knew how to wait something out. She also had learned by now the behavior patterns of the Mikaelson brothers. 

 

Emilia sent off a brief email to an old friend of hers who happened to be a witch. She wanted to have a backup daylight ring in case hers got taken again. She also wanted someone out looking for her if she got herself into trouble. Almost immediately after she sent the email and cleared the browser history, Emilia heard the door unlocking. Placing everything back where it had been originally with her heightened speed, she quickly exited the room. 

 

Luka and Doctor Martin were walking in, talking quietly between themselves about Bonnie Bennett. When they saw her watching from the hallway, their voices cut off abruptly. Rolling her eyes, Emilia threw herself back onto the sofa. Back to the monotony of life in captivity. She should have told her friend to bring her vervain. While it wouldn’t do anything to affect Elijah’s compulsion, it would prevent it from happening to her again. 

 

To her surprise, she heard the elder Martin drop to his knees by the sofa. His breathing increased incrementally, causing Emilia to hold back a smug smile. It was nice to know that she still terrified this man. “Can I help you?” She asked, slightly sarcastically. Opening her eyes, she glanced at him briefly, without moving her head. The man still seemed slightly unsure, so she turned her head to fully face him. “What do you want?” She dropped whatever vestiges of politeness that she had retained and was now completely irritated with him. 

 

She felt, rather than saw, him twitch his fingers ever so slightly, causing to her to recoil in pain. Emilia had been alive for almost a thousand years and that stupid mind trick still was painful, especially from a powerful witch. The older man had seemed to regain his confidence, as he forced her into an upright position. When she was finally where he wanted her, the doctor let up on the mental assault. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about Elena Gilbert.” 

 

“You can go to hell,” Emilia spat viciously. Martin had the nerve to backhand her. Her head snapped to the side with the force of the blow and her fists clenched dangerously. She whirled back around to face him, her fangs extended and her eyes dark. Emilia could hear his heartbeat start to pick up slightly and she knew that he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. “If you ever lay your hands on me again, I will rip them off of your body. Understand?” She gave him a smile that was saccharine sweet. 

 

She saw him attempt to raise his hand again, and with a speed invisible to the naked eye, she grabbed ahold of his wrist. Giving him a pointed look, he conceded. Feeling a surge of power from his defeat, Emilia’s hope was renewed. With witches as weak as this, Elijah didn’t stand a chance against Klaus. “I don’t know anything about Elena,” Emilia said suddenly, feeling generous. “All I know is that her aunt is dating the history teacher and Elena is a good-for-nothing martyr.” Releasing the man’s wrist, she got up off the sofa. “I’m done talking to you.” 

 

Making her way to a small guest bedroom that held only a bed and a small dressers, Emilia collapsed on the bed. She was bored out of her mind. Getting up to open the small window, Emilia tentatively pushed out against the air, only to encounter a barrier. Slamming her fist against the wall, she stared out into the open air furiously. Pounding her hand against the invisible wall keeping her from the outside, Emilia felt abject rage and sadness well up inside her. 

 

She couldn’t understand why Elijah was keeping her cooped up here. Sure, they hadn’t parted on the best of terms, but this was uncharacteristic of him. Emilia stepped away from the window and threw herself back on the bed. She didn’t know how long she laid there, doing nothing, but some time must have passed. When she heard the door open and glanced to the window, Emilia realized that it was night. She heard Elijah’s voice as he spoke to the eldest Martin, talking about how he was going to keep the doppleganger safe. 

 

Emilia called bullshit. There was no way that Elena Gilbert managed to survive the machinations of the Mikaelson brothers. She listened with disinterest as Elijah made his way to her room. He appeared in the doorway, looking as stony faced as ever. “Elijah! Come join me in solitude,” Emilia crowed sarcastically, causing a frown to form on his face. 

 

“Emilia,” he spoke stiffly, approaching her gingerly as if he thought she would attack him. He was probably playing it smart, she mused. She didn’t trust that she wouldn’t attempt to kill him. “I hear that you’ve become…” he paused briefly before continuing, “restless.” Emilia just rolled her eyes, not dignifying his words with a response. “I believe I may have a solution.” 

Emilia sat straight up, immediately interested. She would do practically anything if it meant she got to leave this house. Elijah made eye contact with her, his pupils expanding. “Hand me your ring,” he started, holding out his hand. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t been expecting, but she still frowned as she handed it over. It wasn’t a particularly special ring, but it represented a time of freedom for her. She placed it in his hand reluctantly and his fingers closed around it rapidly. He tucked the ring into his pocket, without breaking eye contact. 

 

“You will be able to leave at night.” Immediately, Emilia felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. Elijah must have seen something in her eyes, because he frowned. “You will return before the sun comes back up,” he glanced meaningfully at her bare finger, “and you will not speak to Elena Gilbert or any of her friends.” He stepped away from her, breaking eye contact. Immediately, Emilia was on her feet. She flitted over to the window, before glancing back at him. 

 

Elijah gazed at her impassively. Placing her hand against the window, she was able to exit. Without looking back, Emilia leapt out of the window, her feet hitting the ground with barely a sound. She fled into the night, getting as far away from the house as she could. Emilia knew that she would have to return, but until then, she was free. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia leant against the wall of a crowded club a few towns over. She was trying to cram as much as she could into these few hours of freedom. Emilia had compelled a short party dress and she had applied her makeup as best as possible. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders seductively. She spotted a human boy eyeing her from across the club. Perfect, she thought, a smirk covering her face. 

 

Stalking slowly across the club, Emilia prowled towards him, hearing the boy’s heartbeat quicken. When she reached him, he smiled cockily, but Emilia knew just how nervous he was. “Hey, handsome,” she purred dragging a finger down his chest. “Wanna dance?” 

 

He grinned, his breath catching in his throat briefly. He took her hand, leading her out to the dance floor. She stood with her back to him, his arms around her waist. As his hands wandered over her body, Emilia had to restrain the urge to snap his neck right then and there. 

 

Instead, she ground her teeth together in irritation and turned around to face him. Throwing her arms around his neck, she drew him even closer. Reaching up on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear, Emilia said, “Why don’t we take this somewhere… more private.” He pulled back to look at her in astonishment, before a dumb grin split his face. 

 

“This way,” he murmured, pulling her down into a long hall. Hiding her grimace of distaste, Emilia allowed him to pin her against the wall. He started kissing her neck; Emilia could tell that he was inexperienced. She let him continue for a few seconds while she exposed her vampire face. Using her strength, she flipped their positions, baring her fangs. 

 

The human’s face became instantly terrified and Emilia bared her teeth in a savage mockery of a smile. “Don’t speak,” she compelled, watching with glee as he opened his mouth to speak and finding out that he could’t. “I’m so hungry,” Emilia sighed, stroking the man’s neck, softly, a burning hunger coursing through her. She glanced up at him from under her eyelashes. “This is going to hurt.” If it were possible, his face paled even more. 

 

Emilia was past the point of caring. She sunk her fangs into the man’s jugular, eagerly drinking his blood. God, this was the best thing. It had been ages since she’d had blood straight from the source, and it didn’t disappoint. She could feel him struggling, but he was no match for her strength; not that much of anything was. Emilia could feel his protests growing weaker and weaker as she drained his life force. Logically, she knew that she should let him live to avoid drawing attention to herself. 

 

Just as she was about to let him go, a familiar surge of viciousness rose up in her. Emilia had been locked up for days, like she was an animal. She wanted to kill, wanted to show Elijah just how vicious she could be. These thoughts propelled her into pressing into the man even harder, draining the life from him. Finally, he slumped against the wall, her grip the only thing keeping his body upright. Drawing away, Emilia licked a drop of blood off the corner of her mouth. Drawing a small knife from where she’d hidden it under her dress, Emilia slit his throat. She didn’t want to leave a trace and mauling his neck with a knife would do the trick. Feeling sated, Emilia exited the club, a new bounce in her step. It was time to find her witch. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia knocked on the door of a small house about 50 miles away from Mystic Falls. It was two in the morning and she hoped that her witch was home. A dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed, woman opened the door, blinking blearily. “Em?” She questioned, her voice coming out in a slow drawl that betrayed her exhaustion. 

 

“Sorry to wake you, Alice,” Emilia spoke, only slightly truthfully. 

 

Alice blinked owlishly, before stepping aside. “Come on in,” she sighed, holding out her arm in a gesture of welcome. 

 

Emilia grinned, slipping past Alice and into the small house. It was warm and well furnished, causing her body to relax fractionally. “The new place looks great,” she called over her shoulder, getting a glass of water from the kitchen. “Much better than that old dump you called an apartment,” she continued, heading out into the living room where Alice was waiting expectantly on the sofa. 

 

Alice frowned dourly, clearly not up for small talk. “Yeah, I had to leave, thanks to you. After you ran from Klaus, he burned my apartment to the ground.” Emilia flinched slightly, feeling twinges of guilt at the corner of her mind. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Alice held up a hand, stopping in her tracks. “It’s not your fault,” she sighed, the accusation that had laced her voice gone. “He stopped by about five months after you blew through. Demanded I tell him where you went, were you were planning on going. I told him as much as I knew, which was nothing. He stormed away and I thought that was the end of it. I feel lucky to have escaped with my life,” Alice laughed bitterly. 

 

“He was that close behind me?” Emilia asked, disbelievingly. She felt that familiar tingling on the back of her neck that signaled something bad would happen. “I was in Houston for two days, at the most. How the hell did he find me there?” She wanted to start pacing, but restrained herself. She knew that Alice hated it when she paced. “I need to get the hell out of this town,” Emilia snarled, feeling the familiar flutter of claustrophobia. 

 

“Relax, Emilia,” Alice soothed. “There’s nothing you can do right now. My advice would be to wait it out. Play nice with Elijah. Get him to let you out of the house. Connect with your Mystic Falls friends. Tell them what’s happened and that you’ll try to get out of that situation.” Alice got up from her seat, pulling Emilia down on the couch next to her. “I’ve already got your new daylight ring. Here,” she pressed a small ring with a blue stone set into it into Emilia’s hands. Emilia tucked it into her shoe.

 

Nodding, she leapt up off of the couch, checking the time. It was only 2:30, so she still had a few hours. “Do you mind if I crash here?” She asked, glancing at her friend. Alice rolled her eyes, standing as well. 

 

“I’m not going to let you have my bed, but you can sleep on the couch.” 

 

With a grin, Emilia crawled on the couch that Alice had just vacated. “Wake me up at five,” she murmured, exhaustion consuming her. She heard Alice mutter a soft reply but even her sharp ears were too tired to catch the words. Emilia was asleep with in moments. When her body jolted with an overwhelming compulsion to return back to Elijah’s, Emilia frowned. She stumbled to her feet, wiping a hand across her eyes, rubbing the sleep away. Glancing around to see if Alice was awake, Emilia didn’t see anything so she lightly slipped away, deciding she would text Alice later. 

 

She made her way in a daze to the Martins’ house, slipping back in through the window. She made it just as the sun was peaking over the horizon; her daylight ring was sitting on the bedside table. Grimacing at Elijah’s games, Emilia slipped it back onto her finger, before collapsing onto the bed. She buried her face in the pillow; she had done way too much last night. Just before she was about to slip into sleep, someone entered her room. Turning her head to face the door, Emilia saw Elijah standing apprehensively in the doorway. “What do you want now?” She groaned, waving her hand at him dismissively. 

 

He approached her, unusually tentative. “I might need your help,” he bit off the end of each word with a bitter look in his eyes. Emilia couldn’t help the grin that crept over her lips. She opened her mouth to say something, probably mocking. Elijah held up a finger before she could get anything out though. She stared at him, an inquisitive eyebrow raised, watching the way his jaw clenched. He approached her, dragging his feet. “You are familiar with Damon Salvatore, are you not?” He asked her, looking like he’d rather be almost anywhere else. 

 

Emilia eyed him warily. “Why do you want to know?” She questioned, sitting up where she sat. Elijah rolled his eyes. 

 

“I don’t care what you did with that nuisance of a vampire,” he scoffed, giving her possibly the most condescending look Emilia had ever received. She was still struggling to reconcile this blunt, unfeeling Elijah with the one she’d known hundreds of years ago. She frowned, but made no move to contradict his statement. “I’m going to a… tea party of sorts tomorrow, for the Historical Society, and I wanted to know if you would join me.” 

 

Emilia’s frown deepened. “Why on earth would I want to go to that?” She tilted her head, glancing up at him. “Speaking of which, why would you want me to go to that?” Emilia pushed herself off the bed, getting to her feet. Glancing at the clock next to her bed, she figured that it was probably late enough for her to start getting dressed. Giving Elijah a pointed glance, she began to pull her shirt over her head. Elijah made a startled noise deep in his throat and whirled around. Not even trying to fight the smug grin on her face, she pulled on a dark tank top and dark skinny jeans. After pulling on a t-shirt over her tank top, Emilia glanced over at Elijah. He was still turned around and she could see the tension in his shoulders. “You can turn around now,” she spoke laughingly. 

 

He briskly turned on his heel, his face carefully controlled. “I’ll get you something nice to wear,” Elijah said stiffly. “Is everything in there to your liking?” He continued, nodding slightly towards the bag at her feet. It was the bag that Emilia had tossed into her trunk before she was abducted. “I got it out of your car,” he spoke, causing her eyes to flick back up to him. 

 

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered, picking her bag up. “I’ll go with you to your stupid party,” Emilia sighed, gesturing for Elijah to leave. Thankfully, he took the hint and made his way to the door, but he hesitated before leaving. “What?” Emilia snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Most of the fear she’d had over Elijah had come and passed. She knew that he wouldn’t truly hand her over to Klaus like a pig for slaughter, so she was just biding her time until she could slip away. 

 

“I’ll be out today,” he started, stiffly. Emilia figured that everything Elijah did now was stiff; he’d been around for too long for it to be any different. She was amazed that she had managed to hold on to her sense of fun. She met his eyes, they were dark. “No one will be home today, so please, behave yourself.” Emilia had to pretend like she was coughing in order to cover up her laughter. Elijah gave her a stern look and she was thrown back to the last time he had told her to behave. 

 

“Scouts honor,” she swore, placing her left hand over her heart. Elijah rolled his eyes in an uncharacteristic display of immaturity. Emilia smirked; maybe he was warming up to the idea of forgiving her. She blinked, and he was gone. Peering curiously out of her door, Emilia listened for any signs of life. When she realized that there were none, she felt a grin creep over her features. It was about time she had some fun. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

So far, Emilia’s day of independence wasn’t turning out very well. She’d stripped of her t-shirt, so she was down to her tight tank top. Emilia had also done her best to trash the house; she wondered how well Elijah would take it if she told him a robber had broken in. Emilia snickered, imagining the look on his face. Beyond blaring loud music, she was realizing that there wasn’t really much to do in a house that was barely lived in. Currently, she was standing in the kitchen with the fridge open, her feet bare. 

 

She was searching for something to eat, but the options were limited. Pulling out a slightly dented can of root-beer, Emilia popped the top. She took a large swig, before spitting it up all over the linoleum floor. It was completely flat. She gagged dramatically for a moment, indulging in her melodramatic side. It was then she heard the door swing open. Deciding that she would let whoever was here do their thing, Emilia drained the rest of the can in the sink, next to the fridge. 

 

Emilia returned to her post in front of the refrigerator, hearing the mystery person approach the kitchen. At this point, she had narrowed it down to Luca, so she wasn’t really concerned. Finally finding something she was interested in, Emilia snatched a can of whipped cream from the shelf. She had popped the lid off and begun squirting it generously into her mouth when Luca entered the kitchen. Turning on her heel and shutting the can, Emilia reveled in the shocked and slightly concerned look on the boy in front of her. Snapping her mouth closed, she swallowed the treat, her tongue darting out quickly to catch a small drop that had been at the corner of her mouth. She managed to do the whole maneuver without smudging her dark red lipstick. “Can I help you?” She asked, watching gleefully as his eyes darted to her bare shoulders and ample cleavage. 

 

His adams apple rapidly bobbed as he shook his head. “No,” Luca stuttered, his eyes shying away from hers. “I just came to grab…” he gestured over his shoulder, his eyes still darting rapidly. Emilia laughed lowly, smelling his fear in the air. Clearly, he wasn’t used to seeing a vampire in such a casual state. Emilia knew she could snap his neck with her pinky but she gestured for him to run along. She didn’t want to spoil the fun just yet. Luca spun around sharply, leaving the house without whatever he’d came here for. 

 

Emilia snickered, setting the can of whipped cream on the counter. Running a hand through her long hair, she grimaced and tied it back into a tight ponytail. Lightly dragging her hands along the rows of grimoires as she left the kitchen, Emilia searched for one that would settle her needs. When she finally found one that was to her liking, she headed back to her bedroom, locking the door ineffectively behind her. 

 

She had been reading through the spell book for hours when Elijah finally returned. Emilia was feeling bored and she hadn’t been able to find a spell that would fit her needs. She honestly didn’t know how she would find Kol if she couldn’t find the proper spell. Emilia was honestly starting to think that the easiest way to get to Kol’s body would be to give herself up to Klaus. He would probably beat her to a pulp and never let her see the light of day again, but at least she would be a little bit closer to finding her companion. Throwing the ancient book against the opposite wall with a growl of frustration, Emilia buried her head in her hands. 

 

The door swung open and she was immediately on her feet, in a fighting mood. She felt light on her feet, her body loose and limber. It had been ages since she’d had a good fight, and Emilia felt the familiar itch in her bones. It was only Elijah though, and he glared at her disapprovingly. He threw a red sundress down on the bed, along with two blood bags. “You need to have your strength up,” he said, frowning. Emilia danced towards the bed, snatching up one of the bags. Elijah was still maintaining eye contact. Ripping the top off of the bag, she messily drank the blood, the veins under her eyes becoming prominent. Emilia allowed the dark liquid to cover the bottom half of her face, while holding Elijah’s gaze. She dropped the drained bag to the ground defiantly. “Be ready to go tomorrow,” he said simply, before exiting the room. Emilia dropped onto the bed, feeling defeated. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(france, september 3, 1701) 

Emilia laughed unenthusiastically, clutching her date’s arm tighter than need be. “Oh, Elijah dear,” she gushed, her French flowing smoothly. “You truly know how to show a girl a good time!” She enthused, gripping him even tighter. It had been a while since she’d spoken her native tongue, and Emilia was loving it. Her personal opinion was that French was the master language, and English could only hope to come close. 

 

“There is no need to hold on so tight, sweet Emilia,” Elijah practically snarled. His French was nowhere near as good as it had been when they first met. He smoothed down the lapels of his suit, before glancing over at her. The wind was ruffling through her dark curls, dragging a few strands out of the elegant up-do that had taken hours to perfect. “And, by any chance, could you tell me why Kol could not escort you to this event?” 

 

Emilia laughed sharply, causing some of the nobles in front of them to turn around curiously. She smiled prettily at them, batting her eyelashes. When they turned around, her face morphed into one of a snarl. Elijah pulled her back, rolling his eyes. “As if you’d want him to come to this occasion,” she sniffed haughtily. Elijah loosened his grip on her arm, conceding to her point. “He was busy tonight,” Emilia admitted, smoothing the red fabric of her skirts. 

 

“How many people will die tonight because of that?” Elijah asked her softly, giving her a loving smile for the benefit of the palace guards. Emilia shot him a fierce glare, but returned the smile as they passed through the guards into the palace. 

 

“He’s a vampire, Elijah,” she scoffed, throwing her head back. “I don’t know what you expect him to do. It’s not like you haven’t killed in your lifetime,” Emilia snapped, drawing her arm away from his. Elijah let her go, following her into the expansive ballroom. 

 

The two of them had come to King Louis XIV’s ball. It wasn’t really Emilia’s thing; she hated what the king had done to her home country, but she went anyway. She had family here and she wasn’t one to leave them behind. Kol was planning on moving onto Spain in a few months and she would depart with him. Emilia could tell that France was gearing up to burst into flames with in the next century and she wanted to make sure that any ancestors she had would make it out alive. “Being a vampire doesn’t call for excessive violence, Emilia,” Elijah protested from behind her. “I don’t see you murdering people regardless of who they are,” he continued, his voice harsh. 

 

Emilia whirled on her sire, her skirts swinging in an ark behind her. To the outside eye, it would look like the two of them were dancing passionately. Elijah knew better, however. “Are you trying to turn me against your brother?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as the two of them stepped in time to the music. “I would appreciate it if you would remember that you sent me to him,” she practically snarled, her body coming closer to his. 

 

Elijah sighed, his eternally young face looking patient. “I regret it everyday, Emilia,” he ground out, his dark eyes resting on her face. She could tell that he was being genuine. “Kol has corrupted you,” he continued, seemingly ignorant of the way her hands were tightening around his. He spun her around, before bringing her back to his body. 

 

“You mean, he stole me away from you,” Emilia retorted, keeping her voice level. She didn’t want to provoke Elijah today. She wanted to find the two people who had the same blood as she, and then she wanted to get the hell out of France. Apparently, Elijah wasn’t having that. His eyes flickered to her face, and his expression was sharp. “Don’t lie to yourself, it’s unbecoming,” she sighed. Emilia let go of his hands, making her way to the side of the room. There were piling towers of food and fancy glasses of wine. She picked up a glass of pink wine, peering over the rim at Elijah. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elijah argued, following after her. He seemed to be telling the truth, but Emilia could tell what he wasn’t saying. She knew that Elijah had given her his blood because he had wanted to turn her, subconsciously. When she had turned, Elijah had secretly been ecstatic because he now had someone who would be loyal to him. Emilia wanted to laugh, because that had backfired horribly. Kol had stolen her loyalty away from his brother and Elijah couldn’t handle the truth of that. 

 

“Darling Elijah,” she sighed, putting the glass down on a table. “I did not come here to argue about right and wrong, so if you wish, we may do that another time. I came to find great-nieces and nephews, so if you will excuse me…” Emilia pushed past him, making her way to the hallway outside of the ballroom. One of the people she was here for was a young nobleman who thought he would try his luck at Versailles. Emilia could tell that he was having a tryst with a married noblewoman, and she thought she would warn him about the possible repercussions. 

 

Narrowing in on him in the hallway, Emilia steadily maneuvered through the minefield of nobility. As she pushed through the door to exit the room, Emilia heard the footsteps of Elijah, following behind her. Rolling her eyes, she continued on her mission. “Henri!” Emilia called, spying a dark-haired man towards the end of the hall. He stopped in his place, before spinning on his heel to face her. 

 

“I am quite sorry, but have we met before?” He asked politely, folding his hands behind his back. Emilia approached him, observing the way his pupils started to dilate with fear. She could tell that he had realized he was in the company of a predator. “Miss?” He asked again, after Emilia kept stalking closer to him. Henri swallowed furiously as his eyes flicked to Elijah, who was hovering behind her. 

 

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Emilia soothed, finally standing in front of him. Her hands snaked out, closing like a vice around his biceps. She dragged him closer to her, his fear heady on her tongue. “You will stop having an affair with the married woman,” she compelled, her eyes meeting his. His pupils dilated and he nodded mechanically. “Settle down, have a few kids, and don’t die,” she instructed, making sure that he was hearing what she was saying. When Emilia was satisfied that her instruction had set it, she released him. Emilia backed away from him, before repeating the process with a girl, Emmeline, down in the kitchens. 

 

As Emilia got into the carriage that was to take her back to where she and Kol were staying, Elijah ran up to her side. “Be careful around him,” Elijah cautioned, pulling on her arm to stop her from climbing into the compartment. She turned her head to face him slightly, placing a hand gently on his cheek. He seemed to sway into her touch before he came to his senses. A frown marred his features. Her fingers spread to smooth away the frown lines. 

 

“Kol would never hurt me,” Emilia finally said, nearly inaudible. “You watch your back, Elijah,” she finished, before pulling and stepping fully into the carriage. Emilia didn’t look back as it pulled out of the long path. Little did she know that it would be the last civil conversation the two of them would have for centuries. 

 

When Emilia finally reached the large manor where she and Kol had compelled lodging, she exited the carriage swiftly. She made her way into the house, quickly pulling off her heels and throwing them to the ground. She must have been making a lot of noise, because Kol appeared at her side without a sound. He tilted his head curiously, his dark eyes scanning her body. He was wearing a formal suit, and there was a relaxed quality to his face that Emilia hadn’t seen in years. “What’s wrong, darling?” His soothing voice washed over her, like a balm. 

 

“The party was terrible,” Emilia stated shortly, clenching her hands into fists. She was starving and tired and just wanted to murder someone. Elijah’s words haunted her in the back of her mind, causing her to grit her teeth. “I should have just gone with you. How was your night?” She asked, stepping closer to the older vampire. Kol laughed lowly in his throat, pulling her to him with a tug on her arm. She let him move her, feeling pliant under his familiar touch. 

 

“It was…” Kol paused, licking his lips briefly. Emilia’s eyes were caught by the action. “Mildly successful,” he continued, brushing back a stray curl that had escaped her hairpins. Running his thumb delicately across her cheekbone, Kol bent down slightly. Emilia stayed perfectly still, not even breathing. He brushed his lips in a feather light kiss at the corner of her mouth. Emilia practically melted at his touch. It was very rare when Kol was so gentle. Usually he was hard and demanding, but something seemed to have him in an exceptionally good mood.

 

“You must have fed extremely well tonight,” Emilia said, Kol still hovering over her. He simply gave her a wicked smile, before pushing her back into the wall next to the door. Kol descended upon her again, this time kissing her with more passion, steadily becoming more like the person she knew. By the time he fully pulled away, Emilia couldn’t quite catch her breath. Her chest heaving, she watched him with wide eyes. 

 

Clearly back to himself, Kol gave her one of his cocky grins. “We’re leaving for Spain at the end of the week,” he stated abruptly. Emilia nodded shortly, absorbing his words. Before she had time to retort, Kol gave her a slow, sultry look. “I’ll be waiting in the bedroom for you,” he spoke lowly, before disappearing within the blink of an eye. Fighting back a grin, Emilia followed after him, starting to pull the hairpins out of her hair.


	5. two parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia goes to a tea party and dinner party, gets new hope, and is reminded of past horrors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late chapters! Hope the length makes up for it! Again, all rights belong to the CW and L.J. Smith. All canon dialogue is shamelessly stolen from the TVD wikia page. Enjoy!

(chapter four; three hours before tea party) 

 

 

Emilia stared at herself in the mirror across from her bed, tugging on the hem of her dress. Elijah had gotten her a red sundress and she was uncomfortably reminded of their excursion in France, over two hundred years ago. Maybe Elijah wanted her to remember the words said that day. Emilia was past caring. Her hair was damp and down around her shoulders, a cooling balm to her overly hot skin. She was feeling cabin fever again and couldn’t wait to get out of the house. Slipping on a pair of black flats, Emilia ran a hand through her hair before exiting the room. “Elijah?” She called out, wandering down the hallway to the living room. 

 

The older man was standing in the middle of the living room, adjusting his tie. Emilia approached him, her footsteps silent. “Hello, Emilia,” he said abruptly, causing her to freeze where she stood. Cursing silently, she came closer to him, allowing her footsteps to fall with her whole weight. He gave her a cursory once over, before seeming to approve. “You look very nice today,” he managed to get out, sounding like he’d rather do anything except compliment her. Emilia rolled her eyes at his childishness. 

 

“Thank you,” Emilia responded courteously. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” She took a step towards him, reaching her hands up towards his neck. Elijah flinched backwards minutely, causing Emilia to roll her eyes. “Baby,” she muttered under her breath, as she straightened and tightened his tie. 

 

Elijah frowned disapprovingly at her. “Ready to go?” He questioned, threading his arm through hers, albeit reluctantly. Emilia nodded, flashing a fake, beaming smile up at him. He led her towards the door, but she was unable to step through, due to his compulsion. “You can exit with me,” Elijah sighed, pulling her through. He walked down the steps to a small car, opening the passenger door for her. Emilia climbed in, rolling her eyes. 

 

“And people say chivalry’s dead,” she deadpanned, not bothering to buckle her seatbelt. It wasn’t as if a car crash could do any serious damage to her. Elijah slid into the drivers seat, starting the car. He glanced over at her, a foreign expression on his face. 

 

“I do happen to be dead,” he remarked in an offhand manner, pulling onto the street. The car was filled with a silence as Emilia processed his words. 

 

“Did you just make a joke?” Emilia exclaimed, slightly outraged. Elijah didn’t make jokes, not any more. He just flashed her a slow grin, keeping his eyes on the road. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia gave another fake laugh, hurriedly taking a sip from her glass. When they had arrived at the Lockwood Manner, Elijah had instructed her to mingle. She’d starting socializing with some of the upper members of Mystic Falls, but was quickly bored out of her mind. It was a bunch of stuffy women and men. Emilia had been to her share of fancy events, but she usually had someone to talk to. Taking another sip, she glanced up at the woman who’d been chatting mindlessly into her ear for the past half hour. With another fake smile, Emilia quickly made a polite excuse to leave, escaping the woman’s clutches. 

 

Rushing away from that portion of the room, Emilia ran straight into Damon Salvatore. She started to stumble back, but his arms shot out, catching her. “Thanks,” she muttered briefly, not quite aware of who she’d ran into. Glancing up, she was greeted with a pair of familiar blue eyes. 

 

Damon gave her a sharp, almost feral, grin. “Emilia!” He exclaimed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Glancing around, she realized that people were starting to give them curious looks. “You and I have some catching up to do,” he continued, his voice lowering in an attempt to frighten her. Or so she supposed; it was rather hard to be intimidated by him. 

 

Rolling her eyes, Emilia pulled Damon to a back room, closing the door behind her gently. He was on top of her almost before she could fully turn all the way around. “What the hell are you doing here?” Damon snarled, his eyes burning blue fire. His hands wrapped around her upper arm, and he seemed to be restraining the urge to shake her. 

 

Emilia bared her teeth in a snarl, pushing the other vampire away. He was no match for her, but she could always be caught off guard. She brushed off her dress, taking a few steps into the room. Damon stumbled back a step, surprise flickering briefly across his face; he must have forgot about her strength. “First of all,” Emilia started, her voice low and dangerous. “I don’t owe you anything. Even if I had left of my own accords, I’m not held to your whims. Understand?” She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. 

 

Damon nodded slightly. Confusion showed on his face. “What are you saying?” He asked, mirroring her pose. “Are you trying to tell me that you were… kidnapped?” He paused, sounding incredulous. Emilia had to refrain the urge to roll her eyes. Good lord, Damon was dense. She was having difficulty remembering why she spent almost a decade with him. Maybe she had just been craving reckless companionship. 

 

“Yes,” Emilia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The vampire that took Elena, wasn’t it Elijah?” She paused and, when Damon nodded, continued. “He apprehended me while I was out by my car. I didn’t see it coming and I had no chance to escape his clutches.” 

 

Damon tilted his head. “But why would Elijah come after you? It’s not like you’re close to Elena.” Emilia wanted to scream. Clearly, Damon was convinced that the world revolved around Elena. Seeing his expression, she decided to keep that thought to herself. Even still, she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Or to rip out Damon’s throat. (She really needed to work on her anger issues. When Kol was undaggered, one of them needed to have some self-control.) 

 

“I know Elijah from a long ways back,” Emilia said vaguely, gesturing her hand around in the air. Damon looked unconvinced but he didn’t press any further. “I think he took me because he wanted insider information on Elena and you and your brother.” Damon’s face darkened and he started to take a step forward, before Emilia held a hand up. “Before you go off on a tangent, no, I didn’t tell him anything of value.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. 

 

Damon settled his weight on his heels, rocking backward slightly. He looked to be placated, but Emilia could tell that he had a million thoughts whizzing through his mind. “Why are you telling me all of this?” He finally asked, staring at her. She shifted slightly; his eyes were so blue that it was a bit disconcerting. 

 

Sighing, Emilia had to restrain herself from copying Damon’s mannerisms. Placing a blank mask on her face, she shrugged one shoulder. “I want to get away from Elijah. Elena needs all the help and I care about you.” And you care about her was what she didn’t add, but Emilia was sure that Damon caught the unsaid words. He gave a short nod, his face thoughtful. 

 

“I’ll do what I can to help you out,” he finally spoke. “Do you have a phone on you?” Damon inquired, pulling his out of his pocket. Emilia nodded, silently handing her phone over to him. Elijah had given it to her after he had decided to stop treating her as a prisoner. He’d compelled her to not call anyone, however. Damon typed his number into her phone, before handing it back to her. “I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on,” he promised with a small smirk. “How’d you even convince him to let you come here?” He asked, his brow furrowing. 

 

Emilia smirked, taking her phone back with a small smile. “I wouldn’t leave him alone. He finally gave in yesterday,” she said with a small shrug. She wasn’t sure if Damon bought it, but he didn’t press any further. Giving her a one armed hug on his way out of the room, Damon exited, looking unruffled. Emilia stayed where she was, staring at the ground. She didn’t lift her eyes, even when familiar steps entered the room. 

 

“Did you do it?” Elijah asked, coming to stand next to her. Emilia could feel his eyes on her. 

 

She finally glanced up. Her hunch was right; Elijah was staring intently at her. Emilia gave him a brittle smile, pulling herself back together. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been so emotionally drained by the encounter, but she didn’t want to show any more weakness then was necessary. “He fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.” Elijah gave a satisfied nod. 

 

“You did well, Emilia,” he commended, pride practically radiating off of him. She couldn’t help but scoff. His eyes snapped to her, narrowing. “We needed Damon to trust you. It’s imperative that you have a say in what happens to the girl.” 

 

Rolling her eyes, Emilia turned away from Elijah. “You know what the deal is.” She stated coldly, retreating into herself. The time for being kind to the other vampire had passed. She was getting Kol out of that box, if it was the last thing she did. Emilia didn’t have time to feel guilty for lying to an old friend. Elijah and Emilia had come to an agreement in the car ride to the house. In exchange for Emilia’s help in protecting the girl until Klaus arrived, Elijah would freely hand over Kol’s body. It would be after Klaus’s death, which wasn’t a guarantee, but she was willing to take the offer. It was probably the best deal she’d get. 

 

“Emilia…” Elijah sighed, reaching towards her. Emilia brushed off his touch, pushing past him. She hurriedly muttered something about heading to the house, unwilling to spend more time with him than absolutely necessary. He didn’t make a move to stop her. Without looking to see if anyone was watching her, she stopped outside, letting the breeze run through her hair. The fresh air seemed to be invigorating her, allowing Emilia to take a breather. When she’d decided to come back to Mystic Falls, she hadn’t quite expected to get dragged into this mess. Now, she couldn’t leave, or she’d miss her chance to come back into contact with Kol. Even if it meant that she had to deal with the Mikaelson brothers to do it, Emilia was willing to do whatever it took. 

 

Her phone buzzed from within her purse. Frowning, Emilia fished it out of her bag. That had been rather fast. On the screen, there were several notifications from Damon. (Are you ok??? You ran out rather fast…) (Elijah’s a freak!! Just stabbed me w a pencil!! Stay clear). With another frown, she dropped her phone into her purse. Things were escalating fast. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia was sitting on the bed in her room, flipping through the pages of another ancient grimoire. She wasn’t really paying attention to any of the words (she could never quite catch the hang of Latin), as her mind was elsewhere. She was still being careful to catch any possible spells that might be of help, but she was really staring blankly at the page. Her mind was racing with ways for her to escape Elijah’s clutches. While helping her happened to be in Emilia’s best interests, she still wished to be able to do things on her own terms. 

 

Hearing a door shut towards the front of the house, Emilia snapped the book shut. It wasn’t of any use to her anymore, so she pushed it onto a top shelf of the closet. Moments after she had thrown herself back on the bed, Elijah entered her room. His hands were coated in blood, although it didn’t appear to be his. “What happened?” Emilia demanded, rushing to stand in front of him. 

 

Elijah glanced at his hands with a clinical detachment, shrugging slightly. “Ran into a few werewolves,” he finally said, sounding unconcerned. “They may prove to be a problem,” he sighed, sounding like he was telling her the weather. 

 

Emilia shrugged slightly. “I’ll handle it,” she assured him. He gave a short nod, before glancing down at his hands again. He said something about going to wash them off before exiting her room. Going back to her bed, Emilia collapsed down onto it, rather confused by the whole encounter. 

 

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table, alerting her to the fact that someone had texted her. It was Alice; Emilia had texted her shortly after Elijah’d given her the phone. (may have found something that can help you locate kol… call me) With a glance towards the door, Emilia shut it, before dialing her friend’s number. Alice picked up immediately, sounding breathless. “Emilia, hey,” she called, without much preamble. 

 

“What did you find?” Emilia whispered, glancing over her shoulder. With Elijah’s advanced hearing, she just had to hope that he wasn’t paying much attention to what she was saying. They had to make this conversation short. 

 

Alice seemed to pick up on her urgency, as she spoke quickly and quietly. Emilia made her way into the small bathroom that connected to her room, turning on the water in the shower as she did so. “Okay, so I did some digging and it’s possible that I could perform a high energy tracking spell on a belonging of his. Anything will do, but it has to be something he was in contact before he was put out of commission.” 

 

Emilia nodded, silently absorbing the information. She’d hidden all of Kol’s belongings before she fled; it was one of the requests he’d made of her should he be daggered again. “I think I can manage that,” she started, feeling doubtful. He hadn’t touched much before he was daggered. Emilia’s mind was racing as she tried to think of something that would work. Suddenly, a thought struck her. “How come we haven’t stumbled upon this before? It sounds rather simple, surely someone must have used it before?” Emilia asked, straining to hear someone approach the room over the sounds of the water. 

 

She could hear Alice sigh heavily over the line. “Like I said before, it’s an extremely powerful spell. Things like that aren’t easy to come by. It requires sacrifice and a hell lot of power. I’m going to need backup, so you’re going to need to find me witches.” Emilia closed her eyes briefly. There was no way Elijah would sanction a mission that would allow her to perform a spell to undagger his homicidal brother. 

 

When Emilia didn’t say anything else, Alice sighed loudly again. “Look,” she said gently, and Emilia could practically see the frown on her face. “I know that it’s a lot to ask of you, especially since you’re sort of held up at the moment. If you want me to keep looking, I will.” 

 

Emilia paused before saying anything. “Are you positive that it’ll give me an accurate location?” She asked, clenching her fist. 

 

“Nothing concrete, but there’s a very good chance that you’ll get a very close location.” Alice answered, her voice unwavering. 

 

Emilia gave a sharp nod, although she knew Alice couldn’t see her. “Thanks, Alice, I mean it.” Her friend gave a short farewell, and Emilia hung up. She set her phone on the bathroom counter, putting her head in her hands. She needed to get out of this trap that was Elijah’s compulsion. Maybe, if she got her hands on a dagger… Quickly shaking the thought off as impossible, Emilia decided to take a shower now that she was in here. It might help her clear her mind. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next morning, Emilia was sitting at the dining room table, intricately braiding her hair. She had nothing better to do at the moment and this gave her a sense of peace. Her mother used to braid her hair when she was a human and it was the one part of her humanity that Emilia allowed herself to hold onto. She was almost done when Elijah came into the room. He gave her a cursory once-over before heading out the door. “I shall be back shortly,” he informed her shortly, before stepping out. Emilia rolled her eyes, watching him leave. when he was gone, her attention turned back to the mirror in front of her. 

 

Her nimble fingers were flying through the last few braids when Elijah returned. He looked mildly stressed and she glanced up at him with a furrowed brow. “What’s up?” She asked, slightly concerned to what might be troubling him. 

 

“I believe I was just invited to a dinner party,” He finally answered, tilting his head to look up at her. Elijah sounded extremely confused, or as well as he could be. 

 

“A dinner party?” 

 

“Yes. Damon Salvatore is throwing it, so I’m sure it will be a spectacle.” Emilia watched the emotions on his face play out, so she saw the exact moment that an idea struck him. “You’re coming with me,” he exclaimed, sounding so unbelievably excited that Emilia almost wasn’t sure that it was Elijah. 

 

“Excuse me?” Emilia asked, in disbelief. 

 

Elijah nodded eagerly, his face quickly falling back into it’s sober mask. “It’s perfect. You’ll tell the Salvatore that I allowed you to come with as a sign of good faith. He’ll think that we’re getting closer,” Emilia snorted at that, which Elijah smartly ignored. “You can get more information on the Gilbert family and what they’ve been up to.” He glanced up at her, suddenly impatient. “Well? Get ready!” He shooed her, pushing her back into the room that Emilia was quickly coming to loathe. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia stared moodily at the bottom of her glass of wine. She’d been relegated to the basic position of a trophy wife, of sorts. Elijah was sitting next to her, dressed in a fine purple dress shirt and black suit jacket. She’d left her hair as it was and had decided on a simple grey dress. Damon kept shooting her furtive looks and she wasn’t sure what he thought she could do. Of course, he didn’t know that she was working with Elijah, but still. It wasn’t as if she could do anything without blowing her ‘cover’. 

 

Frowning into her glass, she took a large drink, emptying the glass. Damon, Alaric, and Elijah gave her strange looks. Jenna and Andie had been relegated to kitchen duty, for which Emilia was eternally thankful she did not have to join as well. She had started to tune out the conversation, when Andie returned, taking a seat across from Elijah. “So, I know this is a social thing, but I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you’re doing here.” 

 

Elijah smiled pleasantly at the woman sitting across from him. “I’d love to answer,” he replied charmingly. 

 

“Great, that’s so great!” Andie exclaimed, bubbly. Emilia eyed the scarf around her neck; she didn’t buy the whole doting boyfriend thing Damon had going on. She was almost positive that the younger vampire was feeding off of the news reporter and compelling her to stay quiet. Speaking of the devil, Damon walked into the room along with Alaric, before taking his seat at the head of the table, glaring down it towards John Gilbert. Emilia wasn’t really a fan of him, but he didn’t seem to know who she was, so Emilia wasn’t going to say anything. “Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?” Andie called, and Alaric complied, walking into the other room. 

 

Damon spoke up, his icy blue eyes still glaring daggers towards John. “Elijah, did John tell you he’s Elena’s uncle-slash-father?” John’s jaw clenched at Damon’s words, but said nothing. 

 

Elijah kept his superior air about him as he responded. “Yes, I’m aware,” he practically sniffed. Emilia was reminded of the days when she and Kol used to spend a lot of time with Elijah. He hadn’t lost any of his airs at all. 

 

“Of course, she hates him, so there’s absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list,” Damon kept talking and Emilia had to quell the desire to force him to stop talking. The sixties had passed by so quickly that she’d forgotten how pretentious he could be. 

 

Andie interrupted suddenly, her gaze shifting to the living room. “No, Ric, it’s in the front pocket. On the… you know what? Excuse me, please. Sorry,” she rushed, sliding out of her seat and going to help Alaric. Emilia didn’t glance back, not really interested in what they were doing, although it surely didn’t take that long to find a notebook. 

 

“Gentlemen, there’s a few things we should probably get clear right now,” Elijah started, straightening up in his seat. “I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I’ll take her away from you and you’ll never see her again,” he finished, his voice deadly. Emilia watched the exchange with a bored expression. She’d rather been hoping to see some good violence. She didn’t know what she had been expecting; Elijah was so boring for an Original. 

 

Andie returned to the table, flipping her notebook open. “Okay. My first question is when you got here to Mystic…” She was cut off as Alaric came up behind Elijah, stabbing him through the heart with a dagger. Emilia practically leapt out of her chair as Elijah screamed, veins spreading over his greying skin. Whatever she’d been expecting them to pull, it hadn’t been this. Emilia knew Elijah would be livid when he woke up, which he would, as Alaric didn’t leave the dagger in. 

 

Damon grabbed her arm and Emilia had to resist the urge to break his. While she was glad Elijah had been daggered, it didn’t exactly bring back pleasant memories for her. “Now get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert,” Alaric said, placing the dagger down with a thud on the table. 

 

“All right,” Damon responded, pulling Elijah up under his armpits. “Emilia, you grab his feet.” Now that she was practically over her shock, Emilia grabbed her sire by his feet. She helped Damon carry him down into the basement, where he locked threw Elijah’s body into a cell and locked the door. Damon shot her a look and she gave him a small smile. Emilia could feel that the compulsion on her had been lifted and she wanted more than anything to get the hell out of Mystic Falls. 

 

She wasn’t able to make her escape as fast as she would’ve liked and Damon pulled her up to the kitchen. Fortunately, he didn’t make her talk, just poured her a cup of coffee. She accepted with a small smile, sipping it down. The caffeine, although it technically didn’t have an effect on her body, made her feel more aware. She stood by the window, staring blankly out of it. Damon received a phone call and he stepped away. Emilia was able to hear the sound of Stefan’s voice, but she didn’t really pay attention to what he was saying. 

 

Her attention was caught when Damon abruptly ended the call, rushing down to the basement. Emilia followed after him in a sort of grim detachment. She found him standing at the entry of the cell, staring into the room. Emilia peered in from behind him. The room was empty. “We need to go,” Damon hissed, pulling her hand and heading back up the stairs. Emilia let herself be dragged along, eager to play along so she could get out of here quicker. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia stared down at Elijah’s lifeless body, her arms wrapped around her torso. She gently nudged his foot with one of hers, watching as he remained completely lifeless. While she knew logically that Elijah was currently her enemy, he looked so much like Kol. Emilia couldn’t stop herself from imagining Kol’s body, locked up in a coffin, looking so similar to Elijah. She turned away and exited the cell, locking the door behind her. 

 

As she was walking up the stairs, Emilia had to admit that she was pretty impressed by the doppleganger’s fortitude. Elena had stabbed herself in the stomach, simply so she could dagger Elijah and save her friends. While Emilia still wasn’t fond of the human girl, she respected her now. Emilia knew that Damon had pocketed the moonstone and she wanted to stick around in order to assure that Klaus wouldn’t break his curse. Now that Elijah was daggered, Emilia was the only buffer between him and victory. She was just petty enough that she didn’t want him to break it, simply because she didn’t want him to be happy.

 

 

Damon had offered her the guest room she had claimed when she had first arrived in Mystic Falls. After seeing Elijah, Emilia headed up to her bedroom, resigning herself to a long stay in Mystic Falls. It was just her luck that she would run into her least favorite doppleganger. “Katerina,” Emilia sneered, sidestepping the younger vampire on the stairs. 

 

“Emilia!” Katherine exclaimed, turning slightly to return the expression. “How wonderful to see you again,” the brunette simpered, before heading down the stairs. Rolling her eyes, Emilia continued up, passing Damon as well. He simply shrugged in response to her questioning gaze. When Emilia finally reached her room, she collapsed on the bed, burying her face into the pillow. She drifted off into sleep, her dreams filled with thoughts about coffins and daggers. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(cadíz, spain, sometime in 1702) 

 

Emilia hummed slightly to herself, dragging her fingers along the bannister of the abandoned house that she and Kol had compelled as lodgings. It was a gorgeous house. If Emilia had ever been any good at painting, she would’ve painted for days on end. As it was, she simply had to quell her urges by writing in her journal. She categorized every part of the house. They’d been here for months now, the longest they’d ever stayed in one place, and she had filled a whole book on all of the different rooms. 

 

She made her way down the grand staircase, searching for her companion. They were supposed to leave the country in a few days and she wanted to confirm some final details with him. He hadn’t mentioned going anywhere and Emilia refused to believe he had regressed that much. While they didn’t always agree on anything, Kol never left without saying where he was going. “Kol!” She cried, one last, desperate time. Her call was met with nothing except the echo of her own voice. 

 

Shaking her head angrily, Emilia went back to her rooms and donned her most sensible dress. She was going to hunt her companion down whether he liked it or not. While Emilia was generally a submissive person, there were a few things she didn’t put up with. A breaking of her trust happened to be one of those things. Pulling on a cloak around her shoulders, Emilia made her way out of house. 

 

She ran to the village, using her vampire speed. Feeling a sickening twist to her stomach as she approached the town center, Emilia kept on her path. The town was nearly abandoned, but Emilia could smell the blood and terror in the air. There had been death here and Emilia didn’t want to accept who had been the cause of it. She finally found him in the tavern. Corpses littered the ground and Kol was drinking from a feebly struggling woman. 

 

Emilia stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn’t a stranger to carnage, almost reveled in it, but this was too far. She could tell that almost the whole town had been wiped out. Emilia knew he couldn’t be starving; the two of them had hunted the previous night and Kol had his fill. “What are you doing?” She asked quietly, positive that he could hear her. 

 

Kol didn’t look up until the body in his arms had stopped moving. He glanced towards her, his eyes still dark from bloodlust. “What’s wrong, darling?” Kol asked, nonchalantly, throwing his arm over the back of his chair, the picture of innocence. She would have bought it as well, if it weren’t for the blood that coated his face. “I’m just having a little fun!” Kol exclaimed, gesturing for her to join him. 

 

Emilia took a step back, feeling ill. “This isn’t fun, Kol.” Emilia snapped, unpleasant feelings of anger and disgust churning in her stomach. “This is just slaughter and you know it.” Kol rose from his seat, swaying slightly. She could tell that he was on the edge of a blood high. He was strangely gentle whenever he got that way and Emilia couldn’t help but hate the part of her that loved him that way. 

 

His face twisted into a dangerous snarl. “This is who I am, Emilia,” Kol said, sounding on the verge of laughter. He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the violence. “If you don’t know that by now, then leave.” Emilia couldn’t help the flash of hurt that flickered across her face before she could wrestle the emotion down. She could tell by the hardening of Kol’s eyes that he saw it. He turned slightly and Emilia was about to approach him when the door swung open. 

 

Klaus and Elijah stepped into the tavern and Emilia immediately took a step towards Kol, not being able to help her defensive position. She raised her chin defiantly at the other Mikaelson brothers. She knew they were here for Kol. “Step aside,” Klaus snapped, sounding incredibly stressed and harried. Emilia had never heard his voice that way, so she did as he said. Emilia wanted to know what had made him feel that way. “I hope you’re happy,” Klaus snarled at his younger brother, still advancing on him. 

 

Elijah hadn’t glanced at her, but was flanking his younger brother. “Mikael has been burning the country because of you,” Klaus snarled, still advancing. “He’s been hunting the rest of us down. We’re leaving the country and you must come with us.” Emilia felt faint. She hadn’t known what was going on and cursed herself for her ignorance. 

 

Kol spun around, his eyes wild. “I will not. Mikael wants you, and that is all. I can stay here and he won’t do anything to me. Leave me, and save yourself, Nik,” he snarled, his voice dancing on the edge of insanity. 

 

“Kol,” Elijah cautioned, speaking for the first time. “We will not ask again,” he implored, his voice threatening. Kol shook his head imperceptibly, a snarl curving his mouth. “Very well,” Elijah sighed, lunging toward his youngest brother. Kol’s eyes widened and he tried to move out of the way but failed. Elijah held his arms behind his back as Klaus pulled something from his belt. When Emilia saw what it was, she shrieked. 

 

“No!” She gasped, lunging towards Klaus, but he batted her away. He sent her a glare and she stayed in her place, not willing to lose her heart. “Please, don’t,” Emilia begged, her eyes tracking the dagger in Klaus’s hand. 

 

“Quiet, darling,” Kol snapped, still struggling wildly against Elijah’s hold. “You’ll regret this, brother,” he finally threatened, his eyes wild. “A day will come when it will take more than a dagger to subdue me,” he promised, just before the dagger entered his chest. Kol’s mouth opened in a grimace of pain before he finally stilled. Emilia crumpled to the ground, clutching a fist to her chest. When she had been so furious with Kol just minutes ago, now all she felt was grief. 

 

“Come,” Klaus snapped, pulling her to her feet. Emilia didn’t protest, simply following behind him. She stopped next to Elijah, reaching out for Kol’s body. He let go of his brother and Emilia caught him gently. Her eyes roamed over his face, even as they made their way out of the country. One day, Emilia would help Kol achieve his promise to Klaus. Even if Klaus killed her for it.


	6. unpleasant reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia makes new allies and is confronted with an old enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, all rights to the Vampire Diaries belong to L.J Smith and the CW. Also, canon dialogue is stolen from the TVD wikia. Not beta'd so forgive any errors. Enjoy!

(the next day)

 

Emilia drummed her fingers against a book, resting her chin on one palm. She had been staring off into space for the past few hours while she waited for Alice to call her back with more information on the tracking spell. Now that Emilia was free of Elijah’s compulsion, she could drop ship and skip town whenever she wanted. That would be a helpful ability to have when it came time for her to rendezvous with Alice to perform the spell. 

 

She had missed the drama that had occurred earlier that morning, thankfully. Emilia had been out hunting early in the morning and she hadn’t gotten back to the boarding house until late into the morning. Damon had filled her in on everything that she had missed, so it wasn’t like she had actually gotten to escape the never ending drama. Apparently Katherine found it entertaining to confuse the Salvatore brothers as to which doppleganger was which. Ordinarily, she could find the humor in it as well, but Emilia had no patience for Katherine’s antics. 

 

Finally moving from her stationary position, Emilia tucked the book she had been clutching back into the book shelf. She stretched, feeling her joints popping back into place. Running a hand down her face, Emilia wandered downstairs to where she knew Damon was. He was standing in the cell that housed Elijah’s body, attempting to burn it with a flame gun. She leaned up against the doorframe, watching his futile attempts. 

 

Of course, if she thought there was even the slightest of chances that he could actually incinerate Elijah’s body, she would stop him. While Emilia wasn’t feeling any goodwill towards Elijah, she wasn’t feeling the overwhelming urge to die quite yet. Damon glanced over his shoulder towards her, his blue eyes piercing. “Come to help?” He asked sardonically, as he was wont to do. 

 

Emilia rolled her eyes, pushing off the doorframe to walk further into the room. “Well, if that hasn’t worked yet, I doubt it will anytime soon.” Damon seemed to be restraining the urge to roll his eyes. Emilia had the bizarre desire to cheer at the fact she’d perturbed him. 

 

Katherine wandered into the room, clearly having followed the same trail that she had. “Mmm, burning flesh,” she voiced, studiously ignoring Emilia. “If you’re trying to get the dagger back, you’re wasting your time. He’s indestructible.” That time, Damon clearly rolled his eyes. 

 

“No kidding. How do you know so much about Original vampires?” Damon asked, turning off the flame gun. Emilia leant against the wall, interested in what Katherine would say. Probably something about Klaus hunting her down. 

Sure enough, “Spent five hundred years running from one.” Out of a petty desire to one up the younger vampire, Emilia almost made a snide comment about spending almost 1000 years with an Original, but decided against it. Kol taught her the art of pettiness, but he also taught her how to be smart and bide her time in order to exact the perfect revenge. Emilia kept her mouth shut. 

 

When Damon and Katherine started to slip into their familiar back and forth, Emilia made her escape. There was no way she would sit through that again, willingly. She was positive that both vampires saw her leave, but neither of them said anything. Emilia saw Katherine smirk smugly out of the corner of her eye, but she let it go. 

 

It wasn’t until Emilia was halfway up the stairs that she realized what had been bothering her. The reason she hated Katherine so much came back to her in full force. Emilia had ran into Katherine and ran with her for about a week in the late ‘90s. They hadn’t gotten along well but she had been starving for any sort of companionship at that point. Klaus had been closing in on her and Emilia had felt strangled. Now that she was thinking about it, Emilia remembered the high she had been on those few months. There had been few instances where she actually had a clear head. It was no wonder she had managed to forget Katherine. 

 

They had eventually split after a week because Katherine had caught Klaus texting Emilia. He liked to text and call her when he was feeling especially smug and was exceptionally close to cornering her. She never knew how he got her number and never had the opportunity to ask. Katherine had freaked out, seeing as it was just a smiley face, and immediately fled. Emilia was left to pick up the pieces and get herself out as well. 

 

Shaking her head, Emilia finished climbing the stairs. Klaus got offended way too easy and he held a grudge like no one’s business. Emilia wasn’t really sure how he felt about her; they really hadn’t spent much time together. Besides her brief stint as his captive, but that didn’t really count in her book. Throwing herself on her bed in the expansive bedroom that she had commandeered, Emilia attempted to stop thinking about him. 

 

That proved difficult to do, as her phone buzzed with a text from a number that Emilia knew by heart. Klaus was an asshole she decided, upon consideration of his message. (<3 can’t wait to see your heart in my hand, sweetheart) 

 

Emilia was tired, however. Tired of running and tired of playing Klaus’s games. (bite me) she texted back angrily, before tossing her phone away with a scowl. She knew that Klaus was hovering on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, just waiting for the perfect moment to make his dramatic entrance. 

 

Her phone buzzed again from where she had thrown it and Emilia glared at the offending device. “Shut up,” she snarled, barely making a sound. She definitely didn’t want Damon and Katherine to find her in this position. When her phone went off again, Emilia snatched it up, bordering on furious. There were two messages from him, (that’s not very nice :p ) and (although i have heard that i can be quite irresistible. we can try it out soon). Emilia had to resist the urge to scream. Her phone lit up again, alerting her to another incoming message. (how exciting is it to know that we’re going to see each other again for the first time in twenty years. i personally am looking forward to it <3). At that, Emilia did scream. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia flipped through a journal, rather lackadaisically. She was curled up in an armchair, while Damon was sprawled out on a sofa and Katherine was perched in a separate chair. Any time the two of them were in the same room, Emilia had learned to tune them out. Their bickering and lowkey flirting annoyed her to no end. While she wanted to rip out Katherine’s heart, just to be done with her, she knew that Klaus would be furious. At this point, she didn’t want to risk having her own heart ripped out.

 

 

While she wasn’t paying direct attention to their conversation, Emilia did get the general idea. If Elijah had been looking for the site where the witches had been massacred that meant he had something important up his sleeve. Emilia couldn’t really picture Elijah actually killing his brother, but he’d probably get pretty close before giving up. That is, if he was ever undaggered. She hated to admit it, but Emilia respected the fact that these baby vampires and humans had managed to dagger one of the most powerful beings in existence. They would certainly give Klaus a run for his money. 

 

When Katherine rose to get something to eat, Emilia realized how hungry she was. She had gone hunting the previous night but had only drank from one person. “Grab me something, too,” she called after the doppleganger, who simply gave her a dismissive hand gesture. Proud of herself for irritating Katherine, Emilia turned back to the book in her lap. She hadn’t gotten very far in actually reading anything when Damon gestured for her to join him. 

 

Getting up out of her chair, Emilia wandered over to where he was sprawled out on the sofa. “What’s up? Did you find anything?” Stefan walked into the room just after she had joined and reiterated her question. Damon shook his head yes. 

 

“Nope.” Emilia’s brow furrowed, but she soon realized Damon’s ploy. He pointed towards the journal in his lap. Emilia and Stefan leaned over to read what was written down. Emilia couldn’t help the slow grin that spread over her features at what was written there. Yes, this little group would give Klaus a good time, that was for sure. 

 

“That’s too bad,” Stefan sighed, beginning to play along with Damon’s charade. 

 

“Yeah, bummer,” Damon said, a smirk cocking his lips. Emilia shook her head slightly, with remote disbelief. If they managed to pull one over on Katherine, she would officially forsake the Mikaelson brothers for the Salvatore brothers. 

 

“Damon!” Katherine called from the basement, her voice sounding panicked. Damon gave the two of them an exasperated look, but went downstairs anyway. Emilia glanced over at Stefan, unsure of what to say. She could tell that he still didn’t trust her, which was wise, but she truly desired him to stop looking at her with such antagonism. After a few more moments of silence, Stefan rose to join his brother. 

 

“You coming?” He called over his shoulder, prompting Emilia to follow behind him. When they reached the basement, Damon was using the flame gun. He was using the fire all around Elijah’s body. “What are you doing?” Stefan asked, voicing Emilia’s own questions. 

“Some kind of crazy ass psychic witch attack! Get over there and do something about it! Go!” Damon cried, still blowing out flames. Emilia took a slight uneasy step backwards, eager to be away from the roaring flames. She wasn’t entirely sure why a vampire would own a flame gun but she didn’t want Damon turning that on her. Stefan turned on his heel, exiting the room. 

 

Emilia leant against the doorframe, staring at Elijah’s desiccated body. Wrinkling her nose, she turned on her heel. “I’m going hunting,” she called over her shoulder, eager to get out of the house. While it probably wasn’t the wisest idea for her to go out and feed, Emilia couldn’t stay in that house a minute longer. She fled Mystic Falls, making her way to a town a few miles away. From there, it was easy to find a bar that was filled to the brim with drunk men who no one would miss. 

 

Emilia dragged a finger down the chest of the man she had picked. She was wearing tight jeans and a plain t-shirt with a leather jacket, but the man was staring at her like she was the most attractive thing he’d seen. It made it easier for Emilia to get him out into the back alley. She didn’t let him touch her anymore than he already had. It was painfully easy to pin him against the alley wall and drain him. Emilia dropped his dead body to the ground, not feeling the urge to cover up her tracks. She dragged his body to the dumpster behind the bar and dumped him unceremoniously. 

 

By the time that Emilia made it back to the Boarding House, it was well into the morning. Her phone announced the time to be 3:27 in the morning. Running a hand down her face, Emilia attempted to silently make her way to her bedroom. Seeing as she didn’t know which floorboards creaked, it turned out to be quite the task. When she finally made it to the room, Emilia shut the door quietly behind her. She stripped off her jeans, doing an awkward dance in order to get them off. She had peeled off her shirt when she froze. 

 

There was someone in her room. Emilia had no idea how she hadn’t realized when she first entered. She blamed the exhaustion that was weighing her down. When she finally recognized who it was, Emilia sighed in exasperation. She chucked a shoe at his head, before collapsing onto the bed next to him. Damon laughed from beside her, situating himself so that he was hovering over her. Emilia had the brief thought that she should feel embarrassed, seeing as she was just in her bra and underwear, but she quickly dismissed it. “What the hell,” Emilia sighed halfheartedly. 

 

Damon laughed again, his head lowering so his mouth was by the side of her ear. “You missed quite a bit,” he whispered, his lips brushing her earlobe with every word. Emilia shrugged slightly, staring straight ahead. She honestly didn’t care. She found it hard to care about very much these days. 

 

“Katherine knows we lied about the site of the witch massacre,” he continued, his voice low. Shame, she mused. It looked like Emilia would have to stay with the Mikaelson brothers. “She’s going to be a problem,” Damon murmured, his voice dark and seductive. 

 

“I don’t care,” Emilia finally said, looping her arms around his neck. “Katherine is a manipulative bitch and she isn’t worth your breath.” 

 

“Then what is?” Damon asked, his voice lowering even further. Emilia laughed, surging up to kiss him. She knew that she was just a distraction to take his mind off Elena, but she didn’t care. Emilia was using him as well. Plus, Damon was a hell of a kisser. He kissed her back vigorously, the weight of his body pressing her down into the bed. When he finally pulled away, Emilia laughed. “Why are you laughing?” Damon asked, his blue eyes glinting in the dark. 

 

Emilia just laughed again, without answering his question. She reached up to unhook her bra, tossing it to the side. She brought Damon’s head down to kiss her again, forcing him to stop talking. He took the hint, shutting up rather quickly when he realized her intentions. Emilia was determined to forget herself tonight.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia awoke slowly, blinking her eyes to clear them. She was curled up with someone pressed up against her. Their legs were tangled together and an arm was thrown over her hip. Emilia pushed her face into her pillow before turning slightly to figure out just who she was laying with. When she caught sight of Damon, she let out a small sigh, relaxing back into the pillows. She ran a hand down her face before climbing out of her bed. She made her way to the bathroom, dragging an absent hand through her untamable curls. 

 

Emilia made sure to snatch her phone from the bedside table. When she reached the bathroom, she turned the shower on and powered up her phone. She hadn’t had anymore texts from Klaus since the other day, so she figured he must be busy getting all his pieces into place. Deciding to worry about that issue later, Emilia called Alice. “Hello?” The witch picked up on the last ring, her voice sounding decidedly groggy. 

 

Holding back a smile, Emilia tested the water temperature with a toe. “Good morning,” she greeted, making sure to sound extra chipper. 

 

“This better be important or I will curse you,” Alice grumbled without any heat. Emilia laughed, knowing it would only provoke the witch. 

 

“It’s important,” Emilia soothed, pulling her curls up into a lopsided bun with one hand while the other held her phone to her ear. “I need you to run a tracking spell on Klaus.” There was a sputter of disbelief from the other line. “Use that gold bracelet that I left at your house. It used to belong to him,” she continued, without allowing Alice to get a word in. 

 

“And can I ask why you’re having me run a tracking spell on the most powerful being in the world? Furthermore, may I ask what I’m to do if he somehow realizes what’s going on?” Alice ranted, building up steam. 

 

“I think Klaus is planning something,” she responded vaguely in lieu of explanation. “And he won’t find out what you’re up to,” Emilia sighed, reaching the end of her tether. “Please text me what you find,” she rushed, before giving a hurried goodbye and hanging up so Alice couldn’t protest further. 

 

Tossing her phone onto the bathroom counter, Emilia stepped into the shower. The scorching scorching water felt good against her skin. She was going through the motions of showering when Damon stepped into the shower behind her. Emilia laughed, turning around to face him. He still looked slightly sleepy but he gave her one of his trademark smirks. Bending down to kiss her, Damon’s arms came around her. “Who were you talking to on the phone earlier?” He asked, running a hand through her curls and undoing her bun. 

 

Emilia turned around, letting the water run over her head. “An old friend,” she said vaguely, threading her fingers through her hair. She could practically hear Damon’s frown, but he didn’t push any further. He leant down slightly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, before moving her hair to gently kiss her neck. Emilia tilted her hair to allow him better access. 

 

“May I?” Damon asked, kissing her neck again. 

 

Immediately understanding what he was asking for, Emilia pulled away instantly. “No,” she snapped, a little too harshly. Damon took a slight step backward. “I’m sorry,” she started, turning her head to glance at him. It wasn’t his fault; he didn’t know how important the act of bloodsharing was to her. She had frequently shared her blood with Kol and since he’d been daggered, she hadn’t let another get that close to her. 

 

“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have overstepped my bounds,” Damon quickly responded, stepping back closer to her. Emilia gave him a grateful smile before getting back to the task at hand. 

 

After they had finished showering, Emilia pulled on a pair of tight black pants, pulling on a plain t-shirt. She was essentially wearing the same thing as the day before, but felt didn’t feel inclined to care. She ran a hand through her wet curls, deciding to let her hair dry naturally. “I think I’m going to head to the library for a little bit today,” Emilia spoke, when she was standing at the mirror, putting in her earrings. 

 

Damon nodded, coming up behind her. “Alright. Would you do me a favor?” She raised an eyebrow, spinning around to face him. “Watch Katherine for me? I don’t trust her and I think she’s just waiting for the right moment to stab us in the back. Or in the heart, to be technically accurate. I know that when you want, you can be completely unseen and that’s what we need.” 

 

Emilia nodded, reaching up to pat Damon on the shoulder. “I can do that. Don’t worry, she won’t see me until it’s too late.” None of them would, Emilia thought deprecatingly. 

 

“Thanks a million, Emilia,” Damon gushed, giving her a thousand watt smile. She gave him a strained smile in response, before grabbing her purse from where she’d dropped it last night. Waving her fingers in farewell, Emilia made her way downstairs, passing Stefan on her way. She left the house in a rush, hopping into her car. It was still parked in the same place that she’d parked it when she first arrived in Mystic Falls. 

 

Emilia pulled out of the long driveway, before she headed into town. When she arrived at the library, Emilia parked her car, before heading into town. She didn’t actually need to go to the library, but she thought it would be a safe excuse. Strolling long the streets of Mystic Falls, she soaked in the sun. Emilia entered the Grill to get a drink, when Alice texted her an address. Scowling, Emilia realized that he was two towns over. Klaus was definitely planning on making his move soon. Texting back quickly (thanks, iou), she took a seat at the bar, giving the bartender a strained smile. 

 

Sipping slowly on her drink, Emilia tried to formulate her next move. Her phone buzzed again with a text from Damon (she just left) and Emilia started to get an idea. If she caught Katherine in the process of betraying the Salvatore brothers, she could get a cut. If Katherine felt trapped, Emilia knew she would take any ally she could. At the moment, Emilia was the strongest player on the board. She had knowledge and strength. Katherine would do just about anything to keep Emilia on her side. 

 

A smile growing on her face, Emilia paid the bill before heading out. She just had to figure out where Katherine would go. Thinking back to everything she’d learned in the past few weeks, Emilia remembered that Elena’s mom, Isobel, was back in town. She also knew that Katherine and Isobel had been plotting before. If Katherine was truly planning on betraying the Salvatores, she would go to the one ally she thought she had left. 

 

Her mind made up, Emilia tried to figure out where Isobel would stay. It took her a while, but Emilia finally found her. Katherine was already there when she slipped into a room on the second floor. “…making a deal with Klaus to save your life,” Isobel spoke from downstairs. Emilia moved soundlessly to the top of the staircase in order to hear better. She could hear heartbeats, which meant there was probably a witch in the house. She would need to avoid him in order to stay undetected. “Here. A vintner I knew in Avignon.” Emilia heard the opening of a wine bottle, along with liquid being poured into glasses. The smell of blood permeated the house. Katherine gave her approval, before moving along the conversation. 

 

“So, what was with the surprise visit to the Gilbert house?” Katherine asked, clearly feeling comfortable in her surroundings. 

 

“John told me Ric was dating Auntie Vanilla. I got jealous,” Isobel replied flippantly. Emilia almost immediately wanted to kill this baby vampire. Not even fifty years old and already thinking she was better than everyone else. 

 

“You obviously have John wrapped around your finger if he invited you in the house,” Katherine spoke, sounding impressed. 

 

Isobel laughed. “He thinks I’m helping him protect Elena, so he’s been very useful in keeping me informed on everything that’s been going on.” 

 

“So, tell me what you know,” Katherine demanded, clearly ready to get down to business. Emilia slid down the wall so she was sitting on the ground, listening to the younger vampires talk. 

 

“You were right. I couldn’t get anywhere near Klaus, but I found my way to someone in his trusted circle. One of his witches.” Isobel responded. Emilia couldn’t disguise the disgust that crossed her face. She hated Klaus’s witches. 

 

“Klaus and his witches,” Katherine remarked, taking a sip of her drink. Or, at least that’s what it sounded like. She wasn’t quite sure. 

 

Isobel started talking again. “He said that Klaus is willing to grant you your freedom if we deliver the moonstone and the doppleganger.” Emilia had to stifle laughter. That was a blatant lie and if Katherine couldn’t see that then she truly was desperate. 

“I can get the moonstone,” Katherine said eagerly. Bingo, Emilia thought. That was her way in. She just had to catch the doppleganger in the act of stealing the moonstone and then she would hold all of the cards. 

 

Isobel again. “You know, Katherine, you’d be betraying your beloved Salvatore boys again.” 

 

Katherine laughed. “I was more than willing to play it their way if I had to, but they’re floundering.” Emilia had to agree there. “Their witch has lost her powers, and they’ve used their only weapon to kill Elijah. If I stick with them, I’m dead.” She was dead either way, but Emilia appreciated the sentiment. “You showing up changes everything.” There was some shuffling around and then it sounded like they were drinking. Deciding that she’d heard everything she needed to, Emilia got to her feet. She moved soundlessly back towards the room she entered, jumping gracefully out the window into the back yard. Before either vampire could realize that they’d been compromised, Emilia was gone. 

 

Emilia returned to the boarding house before Katherine. Elena, Damon, and Stefan were gathered in the library. They were discussing Elena’s safety as they did most of the time these days. “I’ll stay here and watch the house,” Emilia offered, giving Damon a meaningful glance. He nodded imperceptibly towards her, understanding the hidden meaning. What Damon thought she would be doing was babysitting Katherine. What she would actually be doing was joining Katherine in her betrayal. 

 

The person in question walked into the library, halting all conversation. “Don’t get quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please, do tell,” Katherine said sarcastically, as she was wont to do. Emilia did like the ring of ‘impending vampire doom’, however. No one in the room answered, Damon tossing a glance towards Stefan. Katherine sighed, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm? I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me.” Katherine continued, clearly fishing for information. It seemed as if Damon realized that. 

 

“No, we have it.” He responded. Or not. 

 

“Where is it?” Katherine retorted, as if she thought Damon would actually answer. Damon evaded in his typical manor, sending the two of them into a catfight over trust. Emilia smirked as Katherine gave up and left the room. 

 

Emilia left when they were wrapping up, turning to leave the room. Damon caught her arm before she could make it very far. “How did it go?” He asked lowly, glancing around them for any eavesdroppers. 

 

“I’ll let you know in a little,” Emilia evaded, prying his fingers off of her arm. “I’ll see you when you get back. Good luck,” she called over her shoulder, heading upstairs, making her footsteps as light as possible. It took about half an hour before Katherine was heading into Damon’s bedroom. Trailing after her, Emilia made sure she wasn’t making any sound. 

 

Peeking into his bedroom, Emilia watched as Katherine dug through his closet and dresser. She even checked his fireplace, making Emilia smirk. When Katherine went into the bathroom, Emilia decided to make her move. She slunk into the room, hearing the younger vampire dig around in the soap bowl. Appearing in the doorway like a wraith, Emilia smiled. “Find anything good?” She asked pointedly, inclining her head towards the moonstone clutched in Katherine’s hand. 

 

Katherine whirled around, her curls bouncing. Emilia gave her a small, sardonic wave. “It’s not what it looks like,” she tried, her brown eyes flashing. Emilia simply rose an eyebrow, letting Katherine know that she didn’t buy a word. “We could… team up,” Katherine finally attempted. 

 

Emilia laughed, causing the doppleganger’s eyes to narrow. “I heard you speaking with Isobel, Katherine,” Emilia started, stepping into the bathroom. “I know all about your plan to betray the Salvatore brothers. I’m simply here to… offer my services. It’s not like you have any better options,” Emilia finished, crossing her arms across her chest. It was up to Katherine now. 

 

“I know why I would double cross Damon and Stefan,” Katherine uttered. “What I don’t know is why you would,” she expressed, copying Emilia’s position. 

 

Raising a shoulder in a brief shrug, Emilia thought over her answer. “I, too, have reason to want to see Klaus dead.” She gave in a brief explanation. “He’s not my biggest fan and I need someone with a chance of winning,” Emilia concluded, seeing in Katherine’s eyes that she had managed to win over the other vampire. 

 

Still eyeing her with slight suspicion, Katherine pushed past her to get into Damon’s bedroom. “After we get the doppleganger, Isobel and I are going to meet at her house. You can wait there while I get Elena. And,” Katherine paused, giving Emilia an appraising one over, “I’ll be holding onto the moonstone for the time being.” Emilia nodded, watching Katherine as she exited Damon’s room. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

With her legs kicked up onto the sofa in Isobel’s house, Emilia was engrossed in a spell book. While Alice had found a way to preform the spell that she needed, Emilia still wanted other options. Plus, she hadn’t yet had the chance to go out and find what Alice needed to preform the spell. This spell book was insanely boring, however. Shutting the book, Emilia tossed it to the side. It was one of the books she had stolen from the Martin’s house, and it reminded her of her brief stint in captivity. 

 

Pushing herself up off of the sofa, Emilia wandered into the kitchen. She wasn’t used to not being involved in the middle of the action and she could only hope that everything went according to plan. Peering in the fridge, she only saw the wine bottle that held the blood Katherine and Isobel had been drinking earlier. There wasn’t any human food, which caused Emilia to shut the door in frustration. She could really spring for some fries. 

 

Making her way back into the main room, Emilia contemplated the idea of going through Isobel’s luggage. It might help her get some insight on who the other vampire was. Right now, Emilia didn’t know if she cared about her daughter at all or if it was just a facade. Before she could actually get down to rummaging through Isobel’s things, the door to the house swung open. 

“Katherine?” Emilia called out, getting to her feet. She moved towards the front of the house, her suspicions growing. “Who’s there?” She asked again, choosing where she stepped carefully. When she reached the front of the house, it was an unfamiliar face that greeted her. “Who’re you?” Emilia inquired, crossing her eyes across her chest. “This is private property,” she continued. “You’re tres…” Emilia trailed off, her hands coming up to clutch at her head in pain. 

 

The warlock moved forward, his hands raised as he increased the pressure on her head. Emilia couldn’t help the low moan that escaped her mouth as the warlock approached her. Finally managing to drop a hand, Emilia glanced up at the man, her fangs out as she snarled soundlessly at him. Clambering to her feet with great effort, Emilia attempted to lunge at him before she was brought to her knees again. 

 

While she had been initially incapacitated, another witch had entered from the back of the house. Under their dual powers, Emilia was rendered powerless. Tears were forming in her eyes as she curled in on herself. While she was under the influence of the intense pain, a needle was injected into her neck and Emilia fell into darkness. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Emilia awoke, it was with a roaring headache. She blinked slowly, attempting to clear her head. She sat straight up, glancing around her surroundings. Emilia was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar bedroom. She swung her legs around to the side of the bed, and had to stop moving in a fit of dizziness. She hadn’t felt this bad since she was captured in the 1300s. Scrubbing a hand down her face, Emilia attempted to regain her bearings. Pushing herself to her feet, Emilia stood shakily. 

 

Taking a step forward, Emilia was forced to catch herself as her legs gave out. Whatever she had been injected with, it hadn’t been vampire friendly. She rested on her knees for a moment while she attempted to catch her breath. Clambering back to her feet, Emilia slowly walked to the door. Swinging it open, Emilia was greeted with a shocking sight. 

 

Alaric was standing by the door, Katherine’s face in his hands. Emilia was helplessly confused, until she heard what Katherine said. “Klaus!” Katherine exclaimed, causing Alaric to smile widely. 

 

“What the hell,” Emilia spoke unthinkingly, her mind still weak from whatever she’d been injected with. It seemed that her mental facilities, along with her motor functions, weren’t working as well as she would have hoped. 

 

Alaric (Klaus?) turned towards her, his grin not falling. “Oh, sweet Emilia. Join us,” he crooked a finger. Emilia felt faint again, and she clutched the doorframe of the bedroom so she wouldn’t fall onto her face. She could feel herself shaking her head furiously, however. Alaric, or was it Klaus, sighed heavily, melodramatically. “I knew they shouldn’t have given you so much,” he huffed, taking a step towards her. 

 

“No, no, no,” Emilia spluttered, holding a hand up. Her ineffective gesture seemed to have the desired effect. “You’re not supposed to be here.” At Alaric’s amused look, Emilia reevaluated. “You can’t be here. What the hell is going on.” To herself, “I don’t understand.” 

Alaric, or Klaus, or whoever he was, laughed again. “Emilia, love, are you not excited to see me?” This time, he didn’t stop moving towards her. He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her further into the living room. At the feeling of his touch, Emilia understood. This was everything in her nightmares. She ineffectively tried to pull away from him, causing his grip around her arm to tighten brutally. 

 

Finding her voice, Emilia managed to scoff. “About as excited as I was the last time we saw each other,” she mocked, sitting forcefully on the chair he pushed her down onto. Klaus, wearing Alaric’s face, grinned, moving towards Katherine who was still standing in shock by the door. 

 

Klaus pulled out another chair, pushing Katherine down into it. He waved over his warlock and gestured towards her. The other man nodded before kneeling down and starting to tie Katherine to the chair. “I have missed your snark,” Klaus cooed, stroking a hand down Emilia’s face. She flinched away from his touch and he roughly grabbed her chin, turning her to face him. “It was quite rude how you left me last time.” Emilia raised her chin as much as she could in defiance. “I will not be making the same mistake twice, mark my words.” This time, when Emilia wrenched herself away from him, he let her go. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(new york city; 1969) 

 

Emilia stumbled up the stairs of her apartment building, not faking her steps. It took a lot to get a vampire drunk, but the amount of alcohol she had drank, along with the blood had done a lot to get her there. Emilia knew she would burn it off within the hour, so she wanted to enjoy the moment while she could. Fumbling around in her purse for her keys, Emilia rest her head against the door. The cool wood helped her concentrate. Finally finding them, Emilia managed to get the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door. Practically falling into the dark apartment, Emilia kicked off her shoes as she slammed the door shut. 

 

Making her way through the rooms in complete darkness, Emilia shed her belongings like water. It was only until she was in the kitchen that Emilia realized she wasn’t alone. Spinning around with a knife in hand, her eyes darted, looking for the intruder. When she finally spotted them, Emilia hurled the knife with a deadly accuracy. She heard it hit its target, along with the intake of breath. 

 

Vampire. That was the only option. With a feeling of dread in her stomach, the lights turned on. Emilia cringed, the lights like a dagger to her brain. While her eyes were closed, the intruder took that moment to strike, moving towards her. Their arms were around her when she finally caught a glimpse of their face. “Klaus,” she gasped, struggling in his embrace. 

 

Klaus grinned dangerously down at her, his arms tightening around her. Emilia could feel her bones grinding in his hold. “Found you,” he whispered in her ear, before tossing her across her living room like she was a toy. Emilia hit the ground hard, her breath stolen. She gasped for air, unable to get it. Klaus laughed, before bending down over her. “You ruined my shirt,” he snapped, his humor gone. Klaus pulled her up by the collar of her shirt, forcing her gaze to the bloody hole in his fine, silk shirt. 

 

Emilia laughed, throwing her head back. Klaus snarled, before backhanding her. He picked up the knife from where it lay on the floor before ruthlessly stabbing it into her stomach. Emilia cried out in pain, attempting to double over, but Klaus’s grip forced her to stay still. “It’s rude to break into people’s homes,” she panted, the wound in her stomach already beginning to heal. 

 

Klaus pulled the knife out, carelessly wiping the blood off on Emilia’s leg. He studied her face for a moment, before stabbing her again, in the same spot. She cried out again, throwing her head back. “You took something that belonged to me, and I will see it returned.” 

 

“You can go to hell,” Emilia spit, still breathing heavily. “That stuff doesn’t belong to you and it never did.” Klaus laughed coldly, pulling the knife out of her body and tossing it to the side where it splattered blood across her floor. “There goes my deposit,” Emilia sighed, only half joking. 

 

Turning back to her, Klaus revealed a stake that he must have had stored on his person. He stabbed her roughly with it, in the spot where the knife wound was still healing. Emilia screamed that time, her body bending backwards in pain. Klaus grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Tell me where you hid it, or I will never let you go.” Emilia spit in his face, starting to laugh wildly. 

 

Klaus left the stake buried in her stomach, a constant reminder. He dragged her to the kitchen table, shoving her roughly down onto a chair. “I will compel it out of you,” he warned her lowly. Emilia laughed again, hanging her head slightly. Sobriety was beginning to return to her and Emilia was in intense pain. Still she grit her teeth and raised her head to glare at him defiantly. 

 

“Do your worst,” Emilia sneered. Klaus snarled wordlessly at her. 

 

His eyes caught hers as he forced her to maintain eye contact. “Where did you hide my brother’s belongings,” Klaus asked, his pupils widening. 

 

“I can’t tell you,” Emilia replied in monotone. 

 

Klaus’s brow furrowed in confusion, while a smile grew on Emilia’s face. She hadn’t tested the limits of the compulsion and was thrilled to find out it had worked. Before Kol had been daggered, they had set up precautions. She was to hide his belongings in a place that she could divulge to no one. She couldn’t tell anyone where it was, couldn’t show anyone where it was, couldn’t write it down. They had covered all and any loopholes because Kol knew that Klaus would want to find it. 

 

Klaus paced angrily in front of her, rage radiating off of him in waves. Emilia sat slumped in a chair in front of him, hoping that he would decide what to do soon. If he didn’t make his mind, her lover would catch them. Damon Salvatore wasn’t the greatest of company, but he was fun and reminded her slightly of Kol. “Make up your mind already,” Emilia drawled, the pain in her stomach having numbed to a dull ache. 

 

Klaus whirled on her, blue fire in his eyes. “You be quiet,” he snarled, jabbing his fingers in her face. Emilia raised her hands in the sign of surrender, mocking him silently with her eyes. 

 

“The only way I ever tell you where I hid Kol’s belongings is if you undagger him. Since I don’t see that happening anytime soon…” Emilia raised her hands, showing that she had nothing else to give him. 

 

Klaus resumed his pacing, striding from one end of her small living room to the other. “I should have known that Kol would have a contingency plan in place,” Klaus muttered to himself. “I should have known you would be in on it. I should have known that you would never willingly betray him!” His voice grew in volume until he was standing in front of her again. At Emilia’s look of contempt, Klaus backhanded her again. The violence seemed to help him calm down, as paradoxically as that was. 

 

“It’s fine, I can work with this,” Klaus mused, still standing in front of her. “You’ll come with me and I’ll get you to talk.” Emilia rolled her eyes. He didn’t seem to understand that she physically couldn’t divulge the location. He pulled her chin up again. “You will come with me and you will not be able to leave unless I let you,” he ordered, his pupils dilating. When he released her, Emilia’s head fell. She hated being held captive. 

 

Raising her head in slight defiance, Emilia glared at Klaus. She would bide her time. When the time was right, she would find a loophole and she would escape. Klaus Mikaelson didn’t scare her.


	7. breaking a curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia is forced to deal with an old enemy and tries to figure out how to get to Kol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All rights belong to the CW and L.J. Smith. The french translation is 'don't make me laugh' but I don't speak french, so forgive any mistakes. Un beta'd, and enjoy!

(the next morning) 

 

Emilia lay sprawled out on a couch, her arm thrown over her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was captive, again. This time, to her least favorite Mikaelson brother. Katherine was still tied to the chair, but she was overall unharmed. Emilia hadn’t been touched either, sans some pointed remarks on Klaus’s side. “Oh, who is this guy? Safari Sam?” Klaus asked, coming from the closet, holding up two shirts. He showed them to Katherine, causing Emilia to peek at him from under her arm. She couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. 

 

Klaus sent her a glare before turning back to Katherine. Deciding that watching their interaction was probably the only interesting thing that was going to happen to her today, Emilia pushed herself up on the sofa. She propped up her chin with a hand and steadily gazed at them. “Okay, bad or badder?” He asked, holding the shirts up. 

 

“The darker colors suit you better,” Katherine intoned, not really answering him. 

 

Emilia hated to say it, but she had to agree. It was easier to buy Klaus’s whole mass murderer schtick when he was decked out in darker clothes. “Oh, thank you, honey. Okay, pop quiz.” He said, straightening the shirt he’d finally decided on. “The dagger and white ash are in the Salvatores’ possession, correct?” 

 

“The dagger was used to kill Elijah. You’ll find him in the basement of the Salvatore house.” Klaus’s eyes flickered over to Emilia. He was probably wondering how she was handling that. 

 

Klaus nodded. “Okay, that dagger needs to stay exactly where it is. The last thing I need to do is resurrect Elijah. Oh, that guy is a buzzkill.” That was fair. 

 

“Don’t forget you’re on the outs with your girlfriend, Jenna.” Katherine reminded. 

 

“Right. Elena’s aunt. For all the lies about Isobel. What else?” Klaus asked, turning his full attention to the doppleganger. Emilia had to restrain the urge to groan. She’d heard Katherine be interrogated all night and it was quickly growing old. 

 

“That’s it.” Katherine reassured. Klaus didn’t seem to buy it as he moved closer to her, touching her face. Katherine’s dark eyes stared away from him, fear practically radiating off her. 

 

“Oh, so jumpy,” Klaus mocked. 

 

“Please, just… kill me. I’ve told you everything that I know.” Katherine begged. Emilia peered at her, with detachment. She didn’t think she would ever hear the doppleganger plead like that. 

 

Klaus put his hands on the armrests of Katherine’s chair, leaning over her. He looked at her in the face. “You see, I believe that you believe that, but what would you not know? What could they be keeping from you? Hmm? Anything? Tell me.” Katherine made the mistake of looking him in the eye and he compelled her. 

 

“They were trying to see if Bonnie could find a way to kill an Original without a dagger.” 

 

“Bonnie the best friend?” Klaus asked, intrigue coloring his voice. Or rather, Alaric’s voice. “I thought you said she didn’t have her powers anymore.” 

 

“She doesn’t or didn’t. I don’t know. You kidnapped me, remember? I’m kinda out of the loop.” Katherine groused, sounding extremely bitter. 

 

Klaus glanced over his shoulder at Emilia. “Do you know anything about this?” He addressed her for the first time. Emilia shrugged, nonchalantly. She wasn’t giving Klaus anything, without a fight. There was still vervain in her system, so he couldn’t compel her to do anything she didn’t want to do. There was a spell of some sort on the apartment, so she couldn’t leave. Klaus seemed to be content on waiting for the vervain in her system to run dry. “Well, we’ll have to get to the bottom of that.” Klaus sighed. 

 

“Please, just kill me, Klaus, and be done with it,” Katherine pleaded, ineffectually. 

 

“And show you kindness?” Klaus asked incredulously. “I’ve searched for you for over 500 years. Your death is going to last at least half that long,” he sneered. Pulling a single-bladed pocket knife from his pocket, he opened it and handed it to Katherine. “I want you to take this knife… and stab yourself.” 

 

Katherine took the knife, stabbing herself in the thigh. “Now take it out.” Klaus ordered, his face blank. She followed his orders, pulling the knife out. Her wound healed. “Now while I’m gone, I want you to do that over and over and over again, and if you get bored, switch legs.” 

 

“Where are you going?” Katherine asked. 

 

“I’m gonna go lay eyes on my precious doppleganger.” Klaus kissed Katherine on the forehead. “Oh, don’t look so glum, Katerina. the fun is just beginning. Again.” He turned to leave, jerking his chin at Emilia. She got to her feet, reluctantly, and exited the small loft. Apparently, if she was with Klaus, she could leave. Good to know. As she shut the door, Emilia could hear the sound of Katherine stabbing herself again. 

 

“What?” Emilia snapped harshly, crossing her arms across her chest. Klaus gave her a warning look and tightly gripped her arm, moving away from the door where Katherine could undoubtably hear them. 

 

“I’m going to trust that you’ll do as I say until the vervain wears out of your system,” Klaus said softly, while they walked down the stairs. Emilia scoffed at his words. She planned on making this as hard as possible for her. “If you don’t,” he cautioned, stopping them, “I’ll take the coffin with Kol’s body and drop it onto the bottom of the ocean.” 

 

Emilia tore herself away from his hold, her eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t dare.” Klaus simply raised his eyebrows, as if asking her to call his bluff. 

 

“The only reason you’re still alive right now is that I would have two very unhappy brothers on my hands if you were dead. Now, if one of those brothers were to find his way to the bottom of the Pacific, I’m sure the other could get over your death.” Emilia’s breath caught in her throat. “Am I understood?” Klaus asked, his voice deadly low. She gave a small nod, her mind racing. “Good, good,” he praised, sounding condescending. “Now, go watch Katerina and make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” 

 

With a hard shove, Klaus pushed her back towards Alaric’s apartment. Emilia considered running for half a second but decided against it. Klaus clearly had Kol squirreled away somewhere and she would find him. She went back to the apartment, shutting the door loudly behind her. Katherine glanced up, holding the bloody knife in her hand while she prepared to stab herself again. “Have fun,” Emilia mocked, heading into Alaric’s bedroom. 

 

She felt slightly uncomfortable hiding out in a strangers room, but figured that Alaric probably wouldn’t care. In all honesty, he’d probably understand, from what she’d heard. Emilia paced around his room, for almost an hour before finally collapsing into a chair in the open room. Rubbing a hand down her face, Emilia glared at Katherine who was still stabbing herself repeatedly. “What did you do to piss him off?” Katherine asked, her voice slightly shaky. 

 

Emilia snorted, slumping further down. She raised one shoulder, thinking back to the day she fled from New Orleans. “Helped in a conspiracy against him. Hid things that he wanted. Ran from him. Annoyed him.” She laughed bitterly, her eyes finding a point on the wall to focus on. “When Klaus is angry at you, it’s hard to find the courage to ask why.” Her eyes travelled back to Katherine’s face. 

 

The brunette was staring at her with something like wonder in her eyes. “Are you scared of him at all?” Emilia laughed out loud. She had been scared of Klaus for most of her life and it was only now that her fear was draining away. 

 

“I used to be. Ko—“ Emilia caught herself before she could finish her sentence. “The person I used to travel with hated Klaus. He would tell me horror stories about him and the things he did. I just had to accept that Klaus is a person like the rest of us.” Tired of this conversation, Emilia pushed herself to her feet. She wandered over to the kitchen area of the apartment and opened the fridge. Rummaging through it, Emilia attempted to find something that hadn’t already expired. 

 

“Does this man eat anything, or does he survive solely on bourbon?” Emilia asked rhetorically, slamming the door shut. “Don’t answer that,” she snapped over her shoulder, already knowing that Katherine was going to respond. 

 

When Klaus finally returned, well into the afternoon, Emilia had already exhausted herself by rummaging through every drawer in the house. She’d found Alaric’s stash of vampire hunting weapons and mimed staking Katherine, just to see the fear in her eyes. She’d also found a nice supply of vervain, which she took to hiding in various spots around his bedroom. Katherine couldn’t see her, so it was a good exercise in futility. Emilia had settled in on the sofa with a book about trench warfare in World War One when Klaus reentered the apartment. 

 

He gave her an appraising look, raising an eyebrow at her choice of reading materials. “Wasn’t your lover in the war?” Klaus asked, knowing full well that the Mikaelsons were in New Orleans at that point in time. Emilia simply shrugged. 

 

“I like getting fresh perspective on things. This war was what, fifty years ago?” She asked, causing Klaus to laugh. 

 

“More like a hundred,” he retorted, heading into the bedroom. Emilia shrugged. Time was meaningless as a vampire. Another person entered the apartment, a warlock that Emilia remembered from her capture. He ignored her, heading into the kitchen. 

 

Emilia wasn’t paying attention to the conversations happening, deciding instead to read her book. While it wasn’t the most interesting of books, it did give her some insight on that decade. Emilia had been caught up in a sequence of highs and lows. The years directly after Kol’s death, she had been encompassed in an all consuming grief. There wasn’t much she remembered very clearly. The devastation due to the war had made it easier for her to take out her violent urges, however. 

 

She only glanced up from her book when Klaus passed by her again on his way out the door for the dance. “Aren’t you going to wish me good luck?” He teased, straightening his shirt. Emilia laughed out loud, causing Klaus to frown and continue on his way.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emilia was painting her toenails on the sofa, her head bent and a dark wall of curls blocking her vision. She could hear Katherine puttering around in the kitchen and could smell fresh coffee brewing. Klaus was standing at the door speaking to his warlock. From what she could make out, they were discussing his true body. Screwing the lid onto the nail polish bottle, Emilia flipped her hair ineffectually away from her face. 

 

She tossed the bottle lightly to the other end of the sofa, before running a hand through her hair. Blowing gently on her toes, Emilia lightly danced towards the kitchen to avoid smudging the still drying paint. Grabbing a coffee mug from a shelf, she reached towards the coffee pot, only to have her hand smacked away by Katherine. Emilia rolled her eyes, nudging the other woman aside. “Go bother someone else,” she snapped, pouring coffee into her cup. Emilia doctored the drink heavily, adding lots of cream and sugar. 

 

“That’s disgusting,” Katherine sneered as Klaus walked back into the room. “Where is he going?” She asked, turning towards the Original and handing him her cup of coffee. 

 

“To retrieve me. So I can get out of this bad hair-do,” Klaus sighed, taking the cup of coffee. Emilia took a sip from her own cup, the taste immediately making her cringe in disgust. Pushing the cup away, she opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. 

 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Klaus?” Katherine inquired, acting like she actually cared. 

“Well, the full moon is almost upon us.” He placed the moonstone on the table. “I’ve killed the witch, I have the moonstone, and the doppleganger is waiting in the wings Oh, I am ready to break this curse,” Klaus enthused. Emilia loudly cracked an egg in the background, staying silent. 

 

“And why would you do that here? There’s so many people that would try to stop you.” Katherine doggedly continued. 

 

Klaus sighed heavily. “Because I have to. It’s the birthplace of the doppleganger.” 

 

“I didn’t realize that was a requirement.” 

 

“Well, how could you?” Klaus asked, before answering his own question. “You betrayed me and fled England before I could give you the details, Katerina. But, I did find your birthplace and I slaughtered your family. So, I guess we’re cool. Let’s just hope that Elena isn’t as stupid as you were,” he said. Emilia poured the eggs into a pan, setting the bowl back on the counter with a loud noise. She could have sworn she saw Klaus’s shoulders tense. 

 

“She won’t run,” Katherine assured. “She’ll die before she lets anyone that she loves get hurt.” 

 

“And that’s exactly what I’m counting on,” Klaus said. He made eye contact with Katherine, compelling her. “You can’t leave until I tell you to,” he ordered, before leaving. Emilia loudly scraped her food onto a plate. 

 

Katherine shot her an irritated look. “Where did all of this food come from anyway?” Emilia laughed, not answering Katherine’s question. She had texted Klaus the night before, ordering him to go to the grocery store. It had been a joke, but he had surprisingly complied. Emilia guessed that he remembered the last time she had complained about food. 

 

Several hours later, Emilia was flipping through a magazine when she heard voices. Katherine was spinning on a swivel chair, listening to music. She got up from the chair, opening up a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. Emilia heard her open the bottle, and she heard a voice she hadn’t heard since the night Elijah died. 

 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Emilia heard Andie Star say. Damon snapped a response back, but Emilia didn’t really care anymore. There was a knock on the door, before Andie’s voice rang out again. “Alaric, are you home? Andie… Star, Jenna’s friend.” Katherine went to the door, trying to grab the doorknob, but failing. She gave up, retreating from the door. It swung open to reveal Damon and Andie. 

 

“Thank God,” Katherine said, watching as Andie entered. Emilia tossed her magazine to the side, peering at Damon and Andie. The reporter made a remark about the similarities between Elena and Katherine, which Damon affirmed. 

 

“Hey, Damon,” Emilia called, waving slightly. Damon looked relieved to see her. 

 

“Thought you might be dead,” he said, addressing the room. 

 

“Unfortunately not.” Katherine said grimly. As much as Emilia hated it, she had to agree with the younger vampire. “What are you doing here?” Katherine asked, her eyes narrowing. 

 

“We’re here to rescue you!”Andie chirped, insanely cheery as always. Emilia rolled her eyes. 

 

“No, sweetie. We are here to see if she deserves to be rescued,” Damon corrected. Andie made a noise of agreement. “I figured you still might be kicking. Alaric-Klaus was blending way too easily. Figured he probably had some coaching.” Damon flashed a small vial, with a grin. 

 

“Is that…?” Katherine started, hope seeping into her tone. 

 

“Vervain?” Damon looked smug. “Your salvation,” he continued, still bearing that smug look. Emilia started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It didn’t look like there was enough vervain for more than one of them. 

 

“It’s not going to undo anything,” Katherine chided. 

 

“There’s always a loophole,” Damon countered. “Did he tell you to stay in this apartment until he said it was okay to leave?” Katherine tried to answer, but couldn’t. “You can’t say.” Damon realized. “Did he tell you to do absolutely everything he says until the end of time?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“There’s your loophole. Drink this and it’ll prevent any further compulsion.” Emilia had to admit that Damon could be smart when he put his mind to it. Katherine tried to come closer to take it, but found herself unable to. 

 

“Give it to me,” she demanded. Emilia watched the proceedings with dread. 

 

“Answer one question first. You double-crossed us with Isobel. Why?” His eyes flickered over to where Emilia was watching from the sofa. 

 

“I didn’t think you could stand a chance against Klaus, so I was looking out for myself,” Katherine answered, not sounding guilty in the slightest. 

 

“And where did that get you?” Damon asked. “Here.” He tossed Katherine the vial. “Be careful with that. If he finds out you have that, you’re never getting out of her.” Katherine opened it up and drank, coughing. “You owe me,” he continued. “And I will collect,” he finished, his voice low. 

 

“Damon,” Emilia started, a pleading note to her voice. He glanced at her again, seemingly deliberating something. He tossed her a small cellphone. 

 

She caught it with ease, glancing up at Damon in confusion. “Remember that thing I had you doing before all of this?” Suspecting that he was alluding to spying on Katherine, she nodded. “Keep it up with Klaus, alright?” Emilia stared down at the phone in disbelief. Damon was going to get her killed. “Come on,” Damon snapped, glancing at Andie. 

 

“Nice to meet you,” the reporter called, exiting the apartment. Emilia slumped back onto the sofa. She eyed Katherine with thinly concealed contempt. 

 

The other vampire glanced over at her, raising her eyebrows. “What?” She asked, smirking. “Jealous?” Emilia wanted to smack the smirk right off Katherine’s face, but she settled for flipping her off. Katherine laughed harshly. 

 

About half an hour later, Emilia wanted to stab someone. Repeatedly. Katherine had found a stereo and had turned the volume about as high as it could go. She had grabbed the bottle of bourbon and started dancing around the apartment. Emilia groaned. “Turn that off or I swear to god, I’ll rip out your spleen,” she snarled, feeling her gums ache. Katherine simply laughed, twirling around the sofa. 

 

There was a noise at the door, drawing both of their attention. Katherine sat down next to Emilia on the sofa, ceasing all movement. Klaus walked in, grimacing. “You mind turning that down?” He snapped, glaring at the doppleganger. Katherine hastily turned of the music. 

 

“Thank god,” Emilia muttered, rolling her eyes. Katherine elbowed her in the side and Emilia turned to snap her arm in half, but was halted by Klaus’s reproving glare. 

 

“Why so grumpy?” Katherine asked, ignoring that interaction altogether. 

 

“This body has outlived its usefulness,” Klaus groused, although it lost some of its effect coming out of a high school history teacher. 

 

“Do you want a drink?” Katherine piped up, helpfully. 

 

“No, Katerina, I don’t want a drink.” Klaus snarled, getting more and more wound up. Emilia sat back to watch the show. She loved it when he lost his temper towards someone other than her. 

 

Katherine offered him the bottle of bourbon. “Come on. It might loosen you up.” Klaus took it from her hands, before throwing it against the wall where it shattered. He turned on Katherine, compelling her. 

 

“What I want is for you to sit down and shut up. “ Katherine followed his orders, sitting back down on the couch. The door swung open, revealing Maddox, the warlock that followed Klaus around. “Maddox, what took you so long?” Klaus asked impatiently. 

 

“You’ve got a lot of luggage,” the warlock responded, seemingly unperturbed by Klaus’s attitude. Two more men arrived with luggage, a woman following after. Emilia watched her with sharp eyes. She knew that face. 

 

“Greta. Finally,” Klaus welcomed. Ah, that was it. Emilia put the pieces together, and figured out that this was the Martin witch. 

 

Greta seemed plenty at ease here. “Hello, love. Nice body. You ready to get out of it?” Two more men entered with a giant wooden crate. Katherine gazed at them, probably wondering how she was going to get out of this. 

 

Greta and Maddox fell to their knees in front of the box, while Klaus situated himself next to it. The other men who had carried everything in started setting up candles around the three of them. The witch and warlock started chanting, casting a spell. From the bits and pieces that Emilia could catch, she understood that they were transferring Klaus back into his normal body. 

 

Katherine was staring at the scene and Emilia was watching her when the chanting stopped. They looked up at Alaric, who opened his eyes. He stared at Katherine, clearly confused. “Elena?” He asked, before collapsing. Maddox got to his feet, opening up the box. 

 

The face that Emilia knew to associate Klaus with appeared, glancing down at Alaric. “Now, that’s more like it,” Klaus spoke with a smile. Emilia frowned. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next day was the night of the full moon. Emilia was out of time. The vervain in her system had worn off, and there wasn’t any left around the apartment. She was hoping that Klaus would be too busy putting all his pieces in place, so he would forget about her. It was farfetched, but looking like her only option. Katherine was in the kitchen again, making coffee, while Emilia was standing at the window of the apartment. Damon had stopped by again, looking for information about the sacrifice. He didn’t seem to understand that nothing was going to stop Klaus. 

 

Speaking of which, Klaus entered the apartment, bringing with him a bad mood. Katherine glanced up, asking if he was okay. “What have you been doing?” He asked suspiciously. 

 

“Making coffee. Do you want some?” Katherine responded, nonchalantly. 

 

Klaus rushed over to her, grabbing her by throat. He stared into Katherine’s eyes, compelling her. “Tell me what you’ve been doing.” 

 

“Making coffee.” Klaus released her, causing Katherine to grab her throat, gasping. She turned around, probably thinking the worst was over. 

 

“Wait. Take off your bracelet.” Klaus ordered. Katherine took it off her wrist, handing it over to him. “Now, I want you… to walk over to the window and stand in the sunlight.” Katherine protested, but didn’t have a choice if she wanted to convince him that she could be compelled. She moved over to stand in the sunlight and she started to burn. Katherine screamed, while Klaus watched her with a smile. He let her burn for a moment before saying, “That’s enough.” Katherine rushed over to the corner of the room that was still in shadows. “Guess I was wrong. All right, then. I need you to do something for me,” Klaus spoke, already turning away from her. 

 

Emilia turned away from the proceedings, only to have her name called by Klaus. He gestured for her to near him. She approached him warily, only to have her arm forcefully grabbed. Klaus took ahold of her chin, making forceful eye contact. “What should I ask you today?” He asked, a mocking look in his eye. Emilia ground her teeth together. “What do you desire most?” Klaus inquired, his pupils dilating. 

 

Emilia cursed him in her mind. That was the question he had been asking for the past three days, and each day she’d given him a more sarcastic answer. Now, she could already feel the truth on the tip of her tongue. “Kol.” She said in a short, clipped tone. While technically true, what she wanted most was to be free. Kol represented that, and without him, she could never truly be free. 

 

Klaus smiled smugly as he released her. “Good. The vervain has worn off.” Emilia took a few steps away from him, hoping the distance would help clear her head. “I’m going to have you help me these next few months. For now, we’re going to put those wonderful intimidation tactics to work. I want you to be at the site of the sacrifice tonight.” Klaus left the room, where she could hear him start to instruct Katherine. 

 

Emilia walked out of the bedroom, glancing over at Katherine who was on the phone. “Go,” Klaus ordered, approaching her. She nodded, glancing over her shoulder, before leaving the apartment. She made her way towards the forest where she knew Klaus was holding the ritual. When she arrived, Emilia set everything up, making sure that everything was in place. The sky started to darken and a women was brought by one of Klaus’s witches. Emilia checked the woman’s pulse. She was dead. Backing up from the woman, Emilia crossed her arms. She just wanted to get this over with. 

 

Soon enough, Emilia could hear Elena’s voice. The doppleganger was trying to plead with Greta, but was failing miserably. When they reached the clearing, the witch lit fires to illuminate the area. Emilia could pinpoint the exact moment that Elena spotted the body on the ground. The doppleganger rushed over to the prone body. “Jenna? Jenna, Jenna! Jenna? Hey, hey, Jenna! Jenna!” Elena cried, checking for a pulse. “Oh, my god. No. Jenna! No!” Elena continued, sounding more and more broken. 

 

“He killed her? Why? I did everything he asked.” Elena asked, glancing up at Greta. 

 

Jenna woke up and Emilia could hear her breathing increase as she took in her surroundings. 

 

“She’s not dead. She’s in transition.” Greta explained, pointing out the obvious. 

 

Emilia moved away from the two women, leaning against a tree. She didn’t want to intrude on their moment. She knew what it was like to lose a family member. She watched in silence as Greta allowed Jenna to feed from her. There was noise coming from the woods and Emilia pushed herself to her feet. She peered into the woods, but it was just the werewolf that Klaus had procured. 

 

Elena tried to plead with Greta. “Witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It’s your duty to keep this curse sealed.” When that didn’t get her anywhere, Elena turned to Emilia. “Please,” the doppleganger begged. “Please don’t let this happen,” she continued, trying to win over Emilia. 

 

Emilia didn’t say anything to Elena, leaning back against the tree again. Klaus entered the clearing, clearly excited to break the curse. He winked at Emilia; she had to fight the urge to flip him off. Klaus handed the moonstone over to Greta before approaching the rings of fire that contained the werewolf, Elena, and Jenna. Greta dropped the moonstone into a stone bowl filled with flames and started to chant. 

 

Klaus approached the werewolf, and the walls of fire dropped. The woman rushed at Klaus, her eyes yellow, but she was soon overpowered by Klaus. He plunged his hand into her chest, ripping out her heart. He took her heart over to the bowl, squeezing the blood into the flames. Greta kept chanting. Emilia kept a watchful eye on the proceedings, ready to intercede if it looked like she was needed. 

 

Next, Klaus approached Jenna. Elena began the futile task of pleading for Jenna’s life. Klaus didn’t seem inclined to agree when Stefan showed up. Klaus used his vampire speed to get to the top of the cliff where he calmly approached Stefan. Emilia listened with a slightly tilted head as Stefan pleaded his case to exchange places with Jenna. 

 

The two of them came down from the cliff, Klaus still playing his games. He staked Stefan in the back, ripped the stake out while leaving wood still in his body, and then snapped Stefan’s neck. Greta began chanting the next sequence of the spell and the fire encircling Jenna disappeared. The young vampire used her newfound speed to burst over to Greta, biting her in the neck. 

 

The witch screamed, Klaus coming to her rescue. He staked Jenna in the back, pulling her off of Greta, who had fallen. Klaus pulled the stake out of Jenna, releasing her. She gasped, falling to the ground. He flipped Jenna over, before burying the stake in her heart. He let go of the weapon, getting back to his feet. Greta began to chant again, completing another part of the spell. Klaus finally strode over to Elena. “It’s time,” he said, the circle of fire around her fading. 

 

Elena got to her feet, walking around Klaus. She made her way to the alter, followed by Klaus. He moved the hair away from her neck before starting to feed from her. Elena’s eyelids fluttered and Emilia could hear the sound of her heartbeat fading. Soon enough, it came to a stop altogether as she died. Klaus released her body, blood dripping from his mouth as she fell to the ground. The flames in the bowl went out as Klaus walked away from the alter. 

 

“I can feel it.” Klaus said, breathing heavily. “It’s happening.” He glanced up towards the full moon, his bones starting to crack. Emilia watched with interest. His eyes were yellow, but the veins under them were still prominent. Suddenly, Klaus was thrown through the air and the flames in the bowl reignited. Emilia jumped forward, unsure of what to do. 

 

The Bennett witch came down the hillside, chanting a spell. Before Greta could do anything to counteract those measures, Damon slid up behind her and snapped her neck. Emilia didn’t know how to play both sides in a fight like this. Fortunately, she was saved the trouble. “Emilia!” Damon called, motioning her over. 

 

She shook her head, pointing to Klaus. “I’ll deal with this. You take care of your brother and Elena,” she called back, moving towards the hybrid. Bonnie continued to chant, her spell so powerful that trees began to fall. Klaus screamed in pain, laying back against rocks. Elijah approached, sparing Emilia a disdainful glance before he was upon Klaus. 

 

“Elijah?” Klaus asked, sounding shocked. 

 

“Hello, brother,” Elijah replied, before plunging his hand into Klaus’s chest, grabbing ahold of his heart. “In the name of our family, Niklaus,” his arm twisted, clearly preparing to rip out Klaus’s heart. 

 

“I didn’t bury them at sea!” Klaus exclaimed, causing Emilia’s head to snap up. He told his brother that he’d lost the other bodies? No wonder Elijah wanted to kill him so bad. 

 

“What?” Elijah asked, his face freezing. 

 

“Their bodies are safe. If you kill me, you’ll never find them,” Klaus pressed, clearly seeing that he had an advantage. 

 

Stefan, also seeing that Elijah was faltering, shouted. “Elijah! Don’t listen to him.” 

 

“Elijah. I can take you to them. I give you my word… brother.” Elijah’s face fell even further. He was very obviously having second thoughts. Emilia stayed silent, not wanting to draw either brothers’ attention. 

 

“Do it and I’ll take you both out,” the Bennett witch threatened, rather superfluously in Emilia’s opinion. Elijah warned her of the risks that could have. “I don’t care,” she kept on. 

 

Elijah looked down at his brother, still beneath him and then back up at Stefan and Bonnie. “I’m sorry,” he confessed. Both Bonnie and Stefan rushed at him, protesting. Before they could reach him, Elijah had leapt off the side of the cliff with Klaus. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Two days had passed and Emilia hadn’t heard anything from anyone. With both Klaus and Elijah MIA, she decided to get the hell out of Mystic Falls. Klaus probably wasn’t dead, but it wasn’t like there was anything she could do for him while he was busy doing hybrid things. “Hey,” she called, flagging down a bartender. She was a few towns over from the small town where everything seemed to go wrong. Her first order of business had been to find the nearest bar that stayed open late. 

 

The bartender came by, giving her a refill. Emilia tipped her glass towards him in silent thanks. She took a sip of her drink, her head bowed. In the back of her mind, Emilia registered the door swinging open but she didn’t bother checking to see who had come in. A man sat down next to her, flagging down the bartender. “I’ll have what she’s having,” he said in a familiar voice. Emilia’s head snapped up, her eyes immediately darting towards the source of the voice.

 

“I can never have a break, huh,” she sighed, throwing the rest of her drink back. Klaus grinned at her, and Emilia could see Stefan awkwardly hovering behind him. “What do you want?” She asked, throwing money down onto the bar to pay for her drinks. 

 

Klaus laughed, resting a hand on her shoulder. Emilia had to resist the impulse to flinch away from his touch. “Stefan, here, and I are going on a little… quest. You’ll be coming with us, of course,” he continued, his fingers tightening on her shoulder. 

 

“Like hell I will,” Emilia scoffed, pushing away from him. “I’ve had enough of your bullshit. I don’t want anything to do with you,” she pressed, getting up off of her barstool. “All you do is bring death and destruction.” 

 

“Similar to Kol, one might suggest.” Klaus smirked and Emilia had to restrain her urge to rip out his tongue. She still wanted to live today, thanks very much. 

 

“At least with him, I was along for the ride willingly,” Emilia snapped, storming out of the bar. 

 

“Wait!” Klaus called, rushing after her. Stefan trailed after him like a lost puppy. The hybrid pinned her up against the wall of the alley next to the bar, his hands fisted in her shirt. “Come with me and help her figure out how to make more hybrids.” Emilia was about to tell him what he could do with his request, when he started talking again. “And I’ll tell you where Kol is.” 

 

Emilia slumped in Klaus’s hold briefly. “The dagger…” she murmured, hope blooming in her chest. 

 

“Stays in,” Klaus finished, crushing that hope. “But I will give you my word that it won’t be another century until it comes out.”

 

Figuring it was the best offer she would get, Emilia reluctantly nodded. “Fine. No compulsion, though. I do what I want.” Klaus nodded, releasing her. Emilia brushed herself off, taking a step away. “Where to first?” She asked, straightening her jacket. 

 

Klaus grinned wolfishly. “Trust me, you’ll have fun.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(new orleans; 1902)

 

“It’ll be fun, Em,” Kol purred, coming up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. He pressed a light kiss to the juncture between her shoulder and neck. Emilia laughed, turning her head to face him. Kol grinned impishly at her, stealing a kiss from her lips. 

 

Emilia turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You, of all people, want to go on a date?” She asked dubiously, her fingers winding in Kol’s hair as she spoke. Kol shrugged, leaning in to kiss her again. Emilia relented under his touch, parting her lips slightly. 

 

When Kol spoke again, he didn’t bother drawing away, simply speaking against her mouth. “I think it’ll be good to have a change of pace. Maybe head out to the countryside? I grow tired of my family.” This time, Emilia initiated the kiss, moving forward slightly to kiss him more forcefully. 

 

“Or… we could just stay in all weekend,” she trailed off suggestively, one of her hands making its way down his back. 

 

Kol pulled back, his face drawn into an expression of faux surprise. “Why, you little minx!” He exclaimed, his eyes glittering dangerously. “However much I would like to lock you away all weekend and ravish you, I fear that my siblings would never allow it.” Emilia sighed, resting her forehead on Kol’s shoulder. “The only way we can truly escape them is to leave the city,” he continued, his fingers carding through her curls. 

 

Emilia tilted her head to the side to press a delicate kiss on Kol’s neck. “Very well,” she spoke. “Far be it for me to be the one who prevents us from having fun,” she giggled, Kol’s fingers stilling their movement. 

“Your harsh words wound me,” he lamented, all mock seriousness. 

 

Emilia laughed, pushing herself upright. “I’ll get my things together,” she told Kol, before giving him one last kiss. She made her way upstairs, pulling a moderate sized suitcase out of the closet. She tossed it on the bed that dominated the center of the room, before rummaging through the closet for clothes. She made sure to pack plenty of clothes, positive that more than one dress would be ruined on this trip. 

 

She was standing with her back to the door, delicately folding stockings when she heard footsteps behind her. “Good, I need you to help me…” Emilia trailed off when she turned around. “Where is Kol?” She asked suspiciously, staring at Elijah. Her sire shrugged, giving her an unreadable look. 

 

“Off with Klaus, I suppose,” Elijah murmured, drawing closer to her. “He mentioned something about the two of you leaving?” He raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the open case on her bed. 

 

Emilia laughed, running a hand through her hair, mussing it even further. “Oh, yes. We’re leaving for the weekend. To have a romantic time in the countryside,” she elaborated further, made unusually flustered by Elijah’s presence. He made a disapproving noise, and began to frown. “Can I help you with something?” She snapped, starting to regain her senses. 

 

Elijah pursed his lips. “I’m concerned about you.” It was obvious that he was picking his words very carefully. “Kol has been undaggered for a little over a year and you have yet to speak of the atrocities you committed in his name.” Emilia threw her head back, her curls tumbling down her back. 

 

“Think of the woman you love,” Emilia murmured, taking a step towards Elijah. His brow furrowed as he attempted to understand where she was going. “You love her so much, that you couldn’t bear the thought of living without her. But, her family will steal her away, for years at a time. How do you respond?” 

 

Elijah frowned again. “I torture the family.” It was clear that he didn’t want to give her the answer she wanted, but it was the truth. 

 

“That’s right, darling Elijah,” Emilia cooed, close enough to touch him. “Don’t pretend like you’re worried about me.” That was when Kol chose to burst into their bedroom, his brown hair wild. 

 

“My love,” he began, his eyes focused on Elijah, “are we almost ready to leave?” He skirted Elijah, wrapping an arm around Emilia’s shoulders. She leaned into his touch, murmuring her assent. “You should leave, brother,” Kol stated coldly. “You seem to be upsetting lovely Emilia.” Elijah’s face was impassive, but he turned on his heel and left the house. 

 

Kol turned to face Emilia, his other arm coming around her in a hug. “What was he talking about?” He asked, pushing a stray curl back from her face. “Did you do something so repugnant while I was gone?” If Emilia didn’t know any better, she would have thought that he sounded almost offended. 

 

Shrugging slightly, Emilia pulled out of his hold to fasten the buckles on the suitcase. “Nothing that you haven’t done, mon chéri,” she called over her shoulder. “Now, are we ready to go?” 

 

Kol laughed, taking the bag from her. “You know how much I like it when you speak french, my dear,” he said, walking down the stairs with his arm looped through Emilia’s. 

 

“Ne me faire rire,” Emilia joked, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

 

“That’s ridiculous,” Kol snorted, tossing the trunk into the back of the vehicle. “I love to make you laugh.” He opened the door for her, and Emilia stepped in. Kol got in on the other side, before knocking on the cab. The vehicle started to move, and Emilia shifted so she was pressed up against Kol. 

 

“No murderous rampages on our date,” she ordered, playing with his fingers. Kol hummed noncommittally, his nose pressed into her hair. “I’m serious,” Emilia said, straightening up. “The last time you went on one of those, you wound up with a dagger in your chest.” 

 

Kol sighed, tilting her chin to face him. “I give you my word, I will not mess up this weekend for you.” Emilia nodded sharply, pleased with him. She settled back against him, excited for the weekend. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Kol!” Emilia called, coming into the main bedroom. “This is the most wonderful home. There’s a private bathroom and everything.” Kol laughed lowly from where he was spread out on the bed. He rolled over, propping himself up on one elbow. Emilia was struck with desire as she drew closer to him. “Don’t you dare rip my dress,” she whispered, before surging down to kiss him. 

 

Kol rose up, pulling her down. He rolled them over so his body was over hers and stared down at her with dark eyes. “Who cares? I’ll just compel you a better one,” he said smirking, his hands making their way to her bodice. He tore the top piece off of her, while Emilia struggled to take off her skirt. With an eye roll, Kol ripped that too, leaving her in her underdress. 

 

His mouth found her neck and Kol placed hot, open mouthed kisses to the skin there. “May I?” He asked, like he always did. 

 

“Yes, god, please, Kol,” Emilia whimpered, pulling him closer, her fingers tugging on his hair. Kol laughed under his breath, before opening his mouth and biting into her neck. Emilia cried out, writhing under him. Kol’s tongue soothed the wound briefly, which only succeeded in sending Emilia further into her state of euphoria. When Kol started drinking her blood, Emilia couldn’t handle it anymore. 

 

She ripped Kol’s coat off, and his shirt was soon to follow. Picking her usual spot at his jugular, Emilia’s fangs came out. She bit into his neck, causing a shudder to run through Kol briefly. His blood was like nothing else Emilia had ever tasted before. She had tasted Elijah’s blood before and it was nothing like Kol’s. 

 

Soon, he drew away from her, eliciting a high pitched whine from Emilia’s throat, although she reluctantly did the same. Kol gently lapped at the openly bleeding wound until it started to heal, then he placed one last kiss on the place where his fangs had been. Emilia threw her head back on the pillow, her curls forming a halo around her head. Her voice was slightly husky as she spoke. “Are you ever going to take your pants off?” Kol’s eyes darkened, a low growl escaping her throat. Emilia laughed, rising up to kiss him again. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Flowers are for girls,” Kol groused, glaring at the offending plants. 

 

“Flowers are simply plants, mon chéri, they cannot be designated to certain genders,” Emilia hummed from where she was arranging displays of wildflowers. Kol made a noise of disagreement, but he didn’t protest. 

 

He started to speak again. “Why must we have a picnic? We could stay inside and achieve the same results,” he complained, sprawled out on the checkered blanket that Emilia had filched from the house. 

 

Emilia laughed, settling in on the blanket herself. She was wearing a loose, casual outfit and her feet were bare. Her hair was twisted back into a loose bun. The fresh air of the country had helped her escape the cramped feeling she had in the city. “We’re in the countryside, oui? Why go to the country to not eat outside?” Emilia asked rhetorically, popping a grape into her mouth. Kol rolled his eyes, tossing another grape at her. She caught in her mouth, before bursting out into laughter. 

 

“This is unbearably sappy,” Kol whined, poking at his sandwich. 

 

Emilia sighed. “It was your idea, my love,” she snapped, feeling her iron grip on her anger loosen slightly. “Now shut up and eat, or I will find someone else to accompany me.” Kol wisely stopped talking, but Emilia could feel the muted emotions rolling off of him. It was only until they were packing up that he expressed them. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. Emilia beamed. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“We have to go back tomorrow,” Kol murmured in her ear. 

 

“I know,” Emilia sighed, her fingers stilling. She had been drawing mindless patterns on Kol’s bare chest. The room was dark and they were lying in bed before sleep overcame them. Emilia’s legs were intertwined with Kol’s and she was laying with her cheek against his chest. 

 

“We can do this again, after I find a way to neutralize Nik,” Kol reassured, his voice a rumbling timber under her ear. Emilia placed a light kiss on his chest. 

 

“I know,” she murmured, her eyes feeling heavy. Little did she know at the time, but that was the last ‘date’ the two of them would go on in over a century. At the time, Emilia was wrapped in the warm feeling of being wanted. “I love you,” she whispered, sleep tugging at her mind. She was asleep before she could hear Kol echo the sentiment.


End file.
